Pisces Compilation
From Esoteric Astrology, by Alice A. BaileySee Michael Robbins' Tapestry of the Gods, Volume III
Emergence at the end of the Path in Pisces as a world Victor and a world Saviour
The moment a man begins to emerge out of that illusion and is no longer subject to the glamour and to the effect of the world maya, that moment the motion of the great Wheel of Life is reversed and he then begins (slowly and laboriously) to work in the opposite direction. He then passes through the signs from Aries to Pisces. He begins patiently and consciously to function as a soul struggling towards the light until finally he emerges at the end of the Path in Pisces as a world Victor and a world Saviour. He then knows the significance of the triumph over death because he has surmounted and overcome desire.
This reversal of the way a man travels through the signs of the zodiac will necessitate a readjustment of the method employed by astrologers when they are casting a horoscope of senior aspirants, of disciples and of initiates.
According, therefore, to an individual's point of evolution upon the Path or (in other words) the individual's place upon the wheel of life, the practising astrologer will arrange the interpretation of the horoscope. It will require the work and the thought of the intuitive astrologer, dependent upon soul contact and much meditation, to determine the processes of astrological interpretation for those who are active and living souls at some one or other of the final stages upon the Path. The casting of the horoscope of the average man or the undeveloped man presents no such difficulties. (EA p20-21)
Pisces is seen at the head of the list of zodiacal signs
8. Pisces is seen at the head of the list of zodiacal signs because it is governing the present great astrological world cycle of 25,000 years. It was also one of the dominant signs, influencing our planet at the time of individualisation when the human kingdom came into being. It is basically related to the first or highest Creative Hierarchy which is, in its turn, related to the third Ray of Active Intelligence. It was the product of the first solar system. The development of illumination through an awakened intelligence is the first goal of humanity. (EA p20)
Pisces a dual sign
It is interesting to note also that seven of the symbols which express the twelve signs of the zodiac are dual in their nature, and duality can be inferred from them.
1. The two horns of the Ram in Aries.
2. The two horns of the Bull in Taurus.
3. The figures of the Twins in Gemini (two lines).
4. The two claws of the Crab in Cancer.
5. The two scales of the Balance in Libra.
6. The two Parallel Lines of force in Aquarius.
7. The two Fishes in Pisces.
These seven constellations are, therefore, closely related to six of the seven sacred planets and to one non-sacred planet. (EA p56)
Consummation in Pisces
2. The wheel of life and the path of man, the divine or spiritual soul, as he passes through the signs of the zodiac according to the mode studied by the esoteric astrologer. This is the Path of Reality as the other is the Path of Illusion. This carries the disciple around the path from commencement in Aries to consummation in Pisces. (EA p58)
World Saviour in Pisces
Then, from the standpoint of achievement in Capricorn, he works for several lives around the zodiacal path, descending into the sea of the mass consciousness to become what is called in the ancient books "the Crab, who clears the ocean of matter which flows around the soul of man," and eventually to become a functioning world saviour in Pisces. He descends into the world of men to save mankind and to further the plan. He is then "the fish who swims free in the ocean of matter." (EA p62)
Pisces related to Taurus via Ray 1
The relation between the other constellations through the planets, as expressing the rays, is as follows:
1. Taurus and Pisces, through Vulcan and Pluto, are related to Ray 1. Transmutation of desire into sacrifice and of the individual will into the divine will.
The World Saviour .
(EA p67)
Pisces one of three major constellations
2. Consider the energies of the three major constellations as they each pour through three of the zodiacal constellations, thus forming great interlocking triangles of [Page 80] force. Thus nine of the zodiacal constellations are involved, and these in their turn fuse and blend their energies into three major streams of force upon the Path of Initiation. These three streams of force pour through:
a. Leo, Capricorn and Pisces.
to
b. Saturn, Mercury and Uranus (the Moon).
to
c. The head, ajna and heart centres.
to
d. The throat, the solar plexus and the base of the spine.
It should be remembered that the sacral centre and the spleen are primarily connected with the planetary emanation of the Earth itself.
3.Consider the three great cosmic Crosses:
The Cardinal Cross The Fixed Cross The Mutable Cross
a. Initiation Discipleship Evolution.
b. The Planetary Logos Humanity Kingdoms in Nature.
c. Cosmic Initiation Solar Initiation Planetary Initiation.
d. Spirit Soul Body.
e. Life Consciousness Form.
f. Monad Ego Personality.
g. Three Initiations Two Initiations Ordinary man.
(Initiates) (Disciples)
and the relation of these three Crosses to the twelve planets and the general sweep of the soul in incarnation.
(EA p80)
Pisces on the revolving wheels
We will follow man from sign to sign as he—in travail and pain—forges the equipment and develops painfully the mechanism which will enable him to arrive at a major moment of crisis in his cyclic life wherein he will begin to free himself from the path of the great illusion along which he has travelled for aeons from Aries to Taurus, via Pisces and—reversing himself—will begin to travel the path of light from Aries to Pisces, via Taurus.
… We will attempt to consider, in the case of each constellation, the general effect upon a soul—undergoing the experience—from the orthodox angle as he travels from Aries to Taurus, via Pisces, and then—as the disciple, coming under other influences—travels from Aries to Pisces, via Taurus. Thus the usual process is reversed and the man reorients himself and "faces the East," as it is esoterically called. He expresses ] then in the highest possible manner the qualities of his soul ray as, in the first case, he expressed the quality of the personality ray. (EA p81, 90-91)
Pisces related to one of the three deaths
From the standpoint of esoteric astrology, there are three major signs in which the "three deaths" are undergone:
1. Aries, which at different points along the Path of Life forces the soul on to the burning ground and subjects it to a purifying process during incarnation. Through the lesser fire of mind, the "jungles of experience are set on fire and dissolve in flames and then the Path stands clear and unobstructed vision is achieved." — Old Commentary
Through the fiery processes of war and strife, brought to the individual through the influence of the planetary [Page 96] ruler, Mars, the God of War, a needed purification takes place. The same purification, but this time through vision, comes to the developed man through the activity of the subjective ruler of the planet, Mercury, who is the illuminating principle which releases the mind, directs the way of man through life and enables him to become aware of the divine Plan which underlies all his fiery experience.
2. Scorpio, which brings about eventually the death of the personality and with which we shall later deal when we come to consider that sign. Esoterically as well as exoterically, Scorpio is the sign of death and burial in the earth, of descent into the depths in order to be lifted again on to the heights (the mountain top in Capricorn). It is stated in some of the most ancient books that "the heat of the earth, the mother, and the sting of the scorpion are the beneficent gifts which the turning of the wheel gives to the man at the beginning and the end." These gifts, when accepted and used, bring a man to liberation and eventually from the control and pain of the Fixed Cross.
3. Pisces sees the relinquishing or the death of all the influences which hold the man to the wheel of birth and his release from the control of the Common or Mutable Cross.
… From the standpoint of esoteric astrology, there are three major signs in which the "three deaths" are undergone:
1. Aries, which at different points along the Path of Life forces the soul on to the burning ground and subjects it to a purifying process during incarnation. Through the lesser fire of mind, the "jungles of experience are set on fire and dissolve in flames and then the Path stands clear and unobstructed vision is achieved." — Old Commentary
Through the fiery processes of war and strife, brought to the individual through the influence of the planetary [Page 96] ruler, Mars, the God of War, a needed purification takes place. The same purification, but this time through vision, comes to the developed man through the activity of the subjective ruler of the planet, Mercury, who is the illuminating principle which releases the mind, directs the way of man through life and enables him to become aware of the divine Plan which underlies all his fiery experience.
2. Scorpio, which brings about eventually the death of the personality and with which we shall later deal when we come to consider that sign. Esoterically as well as exoterically, Scorpio is the sign of death and burial in the earth, of descent into the depths in order to be lifted again on to the heights (the mountain top in Capricorn). It is stated in some of the most ancient books that "the heat of the earth, the mother, and the sting of the scorpion are the beneficent gifts which the turning of the wheel gives to the man at the beginning and the end." These gifts, when accepted and used, bring a man to liberation and eventually from the control and pain of the Fixed Cross.
3. Pisces sees the relinquishing or the death of all the influences which hold the man to the wheel of birth and his release from the control of the Common or Mutable Cross.
…
1. The death by drowning or by water in Pisces releases man again into that great centre which we call Humanity, and there experience is gained. Herein lies the mystery of the fish-goddesses of this sign "who spawn their young again and yet again."
2. The death by suffocation in Scorpio releases man into the planetary centre which we call the Hierarchy.
3. The death by fire or burning in Aries releases man into another centre to which we give the name Shamballa.
…
Death is, therefore, of three kinds. This Science of Divine Dying underlies the well-known phrase "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," and when the relationship between Aries, Scorpio and Pisces is properly understood (as the linking and merging of the three crosses) a new light will be thrown upon all subsidiary sciences—exoteric and esoteric. The teaching in The Secret Doctrine about the reincarnating monads who are called the divine Sacrifices, Lords of Knowledge, Will and Sacrifice, will be clarified. These monads, who are ourselves, are Lords of Persevering Ceaseless Devotion —devotion even unto death. (EA p95-98)
Death and liberation in Pisces
At the same time, Aries is related to birth, through Mercury who rules Aries esoterically, and also Virgo, of which Mercury is the exoteric ruler. Through Uranus also, Aries is related to Aquarius, [Page 99] the sign of world service, leading to death and liberation in Pisces. Uranus is the planet through which zodiacal energy flows, in connection with the Creative Hierarchies upon our planet, from one of the stars of the Great Bear. (EA p98-99)
Universal mission in Pisces and Aquarius
4. Capricorn, the "birthplace of the Christ," the place of the "second birth" and the scene for the emergence of [Page 103] the fifth kingdom in nature when the right time comes. In this sign, the initiate comes into a spiritual awareness which demonstrates later in Aquarius and in Pisces as man, the world worker, and man, the world saviour—both of them with a universal mission.
(EA p102-103)
The ocean in Pisces
Going through the great cycle from Aries to Taurus, the man reenters the sign Aries again under the potent impression of Taurus, which at this stage of development feeds his ardent desire for the many material advantages of physical incarnation and of constant worldly undertakings; thus [Page 108] after a period of re-creation, he passes out into incarnation in Pisces and begins again the great round of manifested life, for Pisces is the ocean wherein he is "the fish," controlled by the laws of substance or material existence. In the second great stage, he passes from Aries to Taurus, because desire has at last been transmuted into aspiration. After proving his steadfastness to the ideal of the spiritual life in the intervening signs, he passes again into Pisces, from the opposite direction to his usual procedure, having earned the right to mount the Cardinal Cross of the Heavens, the power to take a final planetary initiation and the privilege of passing on to one of the seven paths to which I have made reference in my other books; these eventually give him "the freedom of the seven solar systems," as it is called in contradistinction to "the freedom of the seven planetary spheres," which the experience of initiation has guaranteed him, after a process of intensive training in one or other of the planetary schools (according to his ray type) and the path of service chosen. (EA p107-108)
The anima mundi passes to Pisces at the close of every great cycle
It is rather difficult for you also to grasp that the involutionary process for all the kingdoms of nature is related to the passage of the soul (this time the anima mundi or world soul) from Aries to Pisces, via Taurus and not vice versa. The anima mundi on the involutionary arc proceeds this way and not as the personality proceeds. The anima mundi passes to Pisces at the close of every great cycle and not to Taurus. It emerges into outer manifestation in Cancer, the sign of mass or group life, of mass or group activity; its diffused consciousness has not yet been individualised as has the consciousness of man. When the world soul after having progressed around the Great Wheel, reached Cancer and the time came for the fourth Creative Hierarchy to manifest through the fourth kingdom in nature, a reversal took place and then proceeded as now. It should be remembered with emphatic care that it is only man, individualised man whose progress we are studying, plus his reactions to zodiacal and planetary influences; we are dealing with his reactions, mental and emotional, to the great illusion and to spiritual reality as these two work in his life, objective and subjective. (EA p112-13)
The affinity of Pluto with Pisces
Exoteric astrology has said and it is widely accepted that Vulcan, Uranus, Pluto and Neptune do not govern signs but only have affinity with them.
I am touching upon this here because we are going to consider the planet Pluto in relation to Pisces. This affinity has only stated a partial truth and is only temporarily true from the standpoint of the modern astrologer. Their existence has only been inferred or discovered within the last two or three centuries though it has always been known to the Hierarchy. I have indicated to you the signs of which they are the rulers and the astrology of the future will accept my statement and work with these planets. Much earlier in human history, they had to accept the fact of Mars and Mercury as rulers of zodiacal signs in a hypothetical manner, and then start to prove the accuracy of the hypothesis.
Ancient astrology was obviously incomplete but until man became patently responsive to the influences which come to him from Uranus or Pluto, for instance, which affect the soul life far more than they do the personality life, they remained undiscovered except by trained esotericists. Today, humanity is rapidly responding to the higher spiritual influences and, therefore, we can look for the discovery of increasingly subtle forces. (EA p114)
Pisces a dual sign
This sign is also dual. In Aries we have the duality which is attached to the bringing together of spirit and matter in the great creative activity of manifestation at the beginning of the evolutionary cycle, whilst in Pisces we have the fusion or blending of soul and form as far as man is concerned, producing the manifestation of the Incarnated Christ, the perfected individual soul, the completed manifestation of the microcosm. Thus the greater and the lesser polar opposites—the human being and God, the microcosm and the Macrocosm—are brought to their destined expression and manifestation. Until man is nearing the goal, these words mean but little though a study of the sign Pisces in the two ways intended may reveal much that is significant and suggestive. The goal of Deity, the emergence of God's plan and the nature of His eternal purpose is for us only a subject of interested speculation. (EA p115)
The Keynotes of Pisces
This duality of Pisces must be studied in relation to its three keynotes which are
1. Bondage or captivity.
2. Renunciation or detachment.
3. Sacrifice and death.
In the first cycle of experience upon the wheel, the soul itself is in captivity to substance; it has come down into the prison house of matter and linked itself to form. Hence the symbol of Pisces, of the two Fishes linked together by a band. One fish stands for the soul and the other for the personality or form nature, and between them is to be found the "thread or sutratma," the silver cord which keeps them bound to each other throughout the cycle of manifested life.
Later on, upon the reversed wheel, the personality is brought into captivity by the soul, but for long aeons the situation is reversed and the soul is the prisoner of the personality. This dual bondage is brought to an end by what is called the final death, when the complete release of the life aspect from the life of form takes place. It should be borne in mind also that the soul itself is of the nature of form from the standpoint of the Monad, though it is a form far subtler than any that we know in the three worlds of human evolution. There is also a dual renunciation referred to in these key words, for first of all the soul renounces the life and light of the Monad, its source (symbolized by the words "the Father's home"), and descends into the ocean of matter; then, reversing itself, the soul renounces the life of form, the personality centre.
The soul detaches itself (in consciousness) from the Monad, the One, and functions from its own centre, making its own new and material attachments. Then, upon the reversal of the wheel, it proceeds to detach itself from the personality and re-attach itself in consciousness to the One Who sent it forth. Such is the climaxing story of Pisces. The Lords of Will and Sacrifice come down into manifestation, sacrificing their high position and opportunities upon the higher planes of manifestation in order to redeem matter and raise the lives by which it is informed (the lower Creative Hierarchies) to the status of Themselves in so far as They constitute the fourth Creative Hierarchy.
This is the subjective purpose, underlying the sacrifice of these divine Lives Who are ourselves essentially, Who are qualified by knowledge, love and will, and animated by ceaseless persevering devotion. They seek to bring about the death of the form in its occult significance and the consequent release of the indwelling lives into a higher state of consciousness. Of this process, all the world Saviours—past, present and to come—are the manifested symbols and the eternal guarantees.
It is in such recognitions as these that the mainspring to the life of service must be sought. People born in this sign are frequently to be found serving the race and ministering to its needs upon some level of consciousness. Thus they are prepared for the final sacrifice in Pisces which "absorbs them back into their originating Motive," as the Old Commentary expresses it. It is for this reason that the life of service and the directed intention to serve constitute a scientific mode of achieving release. In Aquarius, the sign of world service, the lesson is finally learned which produces the world Saviour in Pisces. Hence my constant emphasis upon service. (EA p116-17)
Pisces on the Mutable Cross
The fluid, sensitive temperament in Pisces—mediumistic and psychically polarised—must be stabilised in Virgo, in which sign mental [Page 118] introspection and critical analysis become possible and serve to arrest the fluidity of Pisces. These two signs balance each other. We might study the dual process taking place upon the wheel through the medium of the Mutable Cross of which Pisces forms a part in the following manner:
1. Pisces—Here the beginner upon the way of life starts with a material receptivity which will enable him to respond to all contacts in the cycle of manifestation. He is, at this stage, negative, fluid and endowed with an instinctual consciousness which contains within itself the potentiality of the intuition. But the seed of the intuition is dormant. The mind which is the instrument of reception from the intuition is, at this stage, unawakened. (EA p117-18)
Pisces on the Fixed and Cardinal Crosses
Pisces—Here, at the final stage, Pisces stands for the death of the personality and the release of the soul from captivity and its return into the task of the world Saviour. The great achievement is finished and the final death is undergone. "There is no more sea" says the ancient book, which means inevitably the "death of the Fishes" and the release of the imprisoned life into new forms or new cycles of the divine Adventure. (EA p121)
Pisces and the Crosses
This Mutable Cross, of which Pisces is one of the arms, is predominantly the Cross of "repeated incarnations," of varied experiments under the various signs and orthodox rulers, and of those many experiences which lead to successive and continuous expansions of consciousness. It is therefore the cross of the Son of God, the incarnating Christ, though it is, in relation to this Cross, the Cross of the planetary Christ, just as the Fixed Cross is that of the individual Christ in each human being, and the Cardinal Cross is that of the cosmic Christ.
It might here be noted that the Cross with which we are here concerned is that of the mass, and that the consciousness which it exemplifies is that of the instinctual consciousness and its merging into the intellectual consciousness; it is the Cross of the anima mundi and of the human soul before the consciousness of duality is clear in the mind of the man and before transfer is made on to the Fixed Cross. It is consequently more closely allied to the Cardinal Cross of the Heavens, for the mass consciousness, which is the significant consciousness of the Mutable Cross, becomes the group consciousness or the synthetic consciousness of divinity, after passing through the interim period or the "vital interlude" of the intense self-consciousness of the man upon the Fixed Cross.
This human interlude is in the nature of a cross section in the development of consciousness, but the main emphasis is the unfoldment of the mass consciousness of all the kingdoms in nature into the group consciousness of the three highest kingdoms through the mediatorship of the human kingdom which, through its peculiar and specific type of awareness, can relate the higher and the lower expressions of divinity. It is here and in this connection that the sign Pisces is of much importance, as it is the sign of mediatorship. Mediumship in its true meaning is expressive of the mass consciousness—impressibility, negativity and receptivity.
These points will become clearer as we study the signs and their many inter-relations. The thought I wish to convey to you here is that at this stage the influence of Pisces on the involutionary arc, and as the Sun retrogrades through the signs, is felt largely in the anima mundi and in the hidden, incarnated and imprisoned Christ; the germ of the Christ life is psychically impressed, becoming constantly more sensitive to these psychical impressions, swept by desire which ever changes, constantly aware of all impinging contacts, but unable as yet to interpret them correctly, for the mind has not been awakened adequately in Virgo. This hidden Christ is unable to free itself from "contact with the Water."
That point is eventually reached and is being reached with great rapidity in the present human stage where another and major change is deemed desirable and this is the result of the many lesser changes. Change is ever needed but the method changes itself from the constant variability and mutability of the Mutable Cross to certain changes of a major kind which are brought about by a more permanent and directed life tendency. (EA p122-23)
Pisces is often a sign of inhibition and hindrances
The natural spiritual tendencies of man are inhibited (for Pisces is often a sign of inhibition and hindrances) and the natural animal and personality powers—particularly the emotional—are the obvious and visible qualities of the man. A good deal of symbolism connected with the latent Christ and the outer expressive personality can be seen if a study is made of the Biblical story of Jonah and the whale.
I have not time to enlarge upon it here, but it is a parable concerned with the Piscean stage of consciousness and the awakening of the Christ consciousness with the consequent dispute which that entails. Jonah stands for the hidden imprisoned Christ, alive to the perils of the situation, and the whale of large size stands for the bondage of incarnation and for the personality.
It is in this dual sign that the imprisoned soul and the personality enter upon that process which will transmute
1. The lower nature into the higher manifestation.
2. The lower psychical powers into the higher spiritual faculties, i.e.
a. Negativity into positive soul control.
b. Mediumship into mediatorship.
c. Clairvoyance into spiritual perception.
d. Clairaudience into mental telepathy and finally inspiration.
e. Instinct into intellect.
f. Selfishness into divine selflessness.
g. Acquisitiveness into renunciation.
h. Self-preservation into selfless world service.
i. Self-pity into compassion, sympathy and divine understanding.
3. Spiritual and mental inhibition into soul expression and mental sensitivity.
4. Devotion to the needs of the self into developed devotion and response to the needs of humanity.
5. Attachment to environment and to personality conditions (identification with form) into detachment from form and ability to identify with the soul. (EA p124-25)
Pisces governed by six planets on the Mutable Cross
it will be apparent how important and powerful is this sign. Through its orthodox ruler, Jupiter, that force is brought to bear which "brings all together" and— in this case—relates the two Fishes and binds them together in a functioning relationship. It is the activity consequently of the second ray force which relates soul and form and brings the two together, and this magnetic potency is peculiarly descriptive of the activity of Pisces.
From another angle and in a dual sign, this can also be seen working out in Gemini. In Pisces, there is demonstrated the captivity angle of relationship and the two Fishes are unable to escape from each other; in Gemini there is also a definite relationship between the two brothers but there is no connecting band, and in that relationship is latent free choice and free determination. In connection with a lesser duality found in every human being, that of head and heart, of mind and love, and of will and wisdom, the work of Jupiter is to develop these two qualities and bring them into synthetic interplay.
Eventually there has to be the complete fusion of love and mind before a world saviour can manifest and function efficiently, and this is pre-eminently the final result of the forces of the Mutable Cross, as they work out the qualities released by the planets active in Pisces, Sagittarius, Virgo and Gemini. These planets are:
Orthodox—Jupiter and Mercury.
Esoteric—Pluto. The Earth. The Moon (hiding Vulcan) and Venus.
As you know, Pluto stands for death or the region of death; the Earth stands for the sphere of experience; the Moon or Vulcan stands for the glorification, through purification and detachment, of matter, and Venus stands for the emergence of the love principle through the directing power of the mind. Students will find it interesting to work out the implications for themselves.
Orthodox astrology assigns only two planets to these four signs, which in itself indicates a definite interplay. Jupiter and its influences indicate that the way of incarnation is the "beneficent" method of evolutionary unfoldment and that the way of love-wisdom (2nd ray) is the way for humanity to go. Mercury indicates that the line of least resistance for humanity is harmony through conflict, for Mercury expresses the fourth ray energy which is buddhic, intuitional and expressive of the Christ, as Mercury and the Sun are one.
But the esoteric planets are more explicit in their inferences and man appears, when ready for their influence, to be responsive in a fourfold way which he is not in the earlier stages. They embody the recognitions and the reactions which condition man's consciousness when he is preparing to transfer off the Mutable Cross and mount the Fixed Cross. He comes, therefore,
1. Through Venus—under the power of mind, transmuted into wisdom through the instrumentality of love.
2. Through the Moon—under the bondage of form in order through form experience to achieve release and the "uplift of matter" in Vulcan.
3. Through the Earth—under the influence of planetary experience (which is different to individual experience) in order to transmute his personal consciousness into group awareness.
4. Through Pluto—under the destroying power of death—death of desire, death of the personality and of all which holds him between the pairs of opposites, in order to achieve the final liberation. Pluto or death never destroys the consciousness aspect.
Six planets, therefore, govern the Mutable Cross as far as humanity is concerned and this in itself is significant, for six is the number of the great work of the period of manifestation, is the number of "the Beast," which is the lower nature as far as man is concerned, and is all that which seeks to destroy the higher life, but also that which can be controlled and directed finally by the soul.
The significance of numbers enters into this science of esoteric astrology, and numerology, as it is, per se, a branch of esoteric astrology. Love—Mind—Experience—Form—Human Understanding—Death: these are the keynotes of the fourth Creative Hierarchy, the human kingdom and they are embodied in the planetary influences which pour through these planets from their allied signs. Through the activity of these forces which work at this stage through the Mutable Cross, man is brought to a great Crisis of Polarisation and to a point of basic change for which all the earlier and many changes have prepared him.
It is these words also which, from a different angle, govern the processes undergone upon the Path of Discipleship and of Probation. The task of the disciple is to understand their significance in a practical and effective manner and to deal with the energies which these planets release, subordinating them to the energies released by the Fixed Cross upon which he stands, and thus increase their potency through occult combination.
It is by achieving intelligent and active response to the energies released and earlier mastered through the experience of the Mutable Cross, and by relating them to the potencies let loose upon him whilst crucified upon the Fixed Cross, that he learns to prepare himself for the twelve great tests in all the twelve signs for which the experience of the two Crosses prepares him. (EA p126-28)
Pisces governs the feet
Pisces governs the feet and hence the whole thought of progress, of attaining the goal, and the treading of the Path of Return has been the underlying spiritual revelation of the great cycle through which we are passing; also, in the Piscean Age, the lesser cycle out of which we are at this time moving, it has been the origin of all the teaching given by the world religions anent the various stages of the Path of Return. (EA p128-29)
Pisces governs the generative processes on the physical and mental planes
Some astrologers hold also that Pisces governs the generative processes. They are essentially correct because once a man is nearing or upon the Path he should become increasingly creative in the higher sense and the physical generative processes should give place esoterically to regeneration and to creation upon the mental plane instead of only upon the physical plane. This higher creative functioning becomes possible under the influence of aspiration and intuition. This begins to take place when the four esoteric rulers supplement the activity of the two orthodox rulers.
It is interesting to note that the astrologer, Alan Leo, suggests Neptune as an alternative to Jupiter. He sensed and touched upon a mystery of initiation though he did not realise the magnitude of his discovery. Neptune focusses the influence of Pisces as it concerns humanity as a whole and not just the individual man, but this only takes place towards the final stages of the Path of Discipleship. Today humanity is moving rapidly towards the position of the World Disciple, and intuiting this, he suggests Neptune as an alternative to Jupiter. (EA p129)
Pisces, Gemini and Venus
Esoterically, the reason that Venus is exalted in Pisces is connected with the relation of Pisces to the sign Gemini, of which Venus is the esoteric ruler, and also in relation to the fact that Venus is the Earth's alter ego and is closely related to the human kingdom.
This subject is too vast and complicated to be elaborated here, but the point should be remembered. The Fishes in Pisces are bound together, as we have seen, and this is a symbol of the captivity of the soul in form, prior to the experience upon the Fixed Cross. The Twins in Gemini are symbols of the same basic duality, but the experience of the many changing incarnations has done its work, and the Band (uniting the two Fishes) is in process of dissolution, for part of the work of Pluto is to "cut the thread which binds the two opposing lives together."
It is the task of Venus to "reunite the severed lives but with no binding thread." Therefore, Venus is exalted in Pisces and at the end of the greater cycle, the Sons of God who are the Sons of Mind are raised up into glory through experience and crucifixion because they have learned to love and truly reason. The influence of Pisces, Gemini and Virgo is eventually fused and blended (symbolically the Cross must always become the line and then the point). Sagittarius, which is governed esoterically by Mother Earth, produces those conditions whereby the Path itself achieves glorification.
Consequently, you have at the end of the age (I refer here to a greater round of the zodiac and to no shorter cycle), the glorification of Venus, of Virgo, the Virgin, and of Mother Earth—two planets and one constellation—and all these are potencies which produce definite changes in the solar system. They represent the three divine potencies of matter and of substance, plus the force of Sagittarius driving them on to a still greater consummation. There is a wide and interesting field of research to be found in the relation of
1. The planet Venus—ruler of the constellation Gemini.
2. The Earth on which we live, called often "Mother Earth."
3. The Fish-goddesses of the sign Pisces.
4. Virgo, the Virgin.
Gemini and Sagittarius are connected through their ruling planets (because the Earth is more closely related to Venus than to any other planet) and thus again you have the six potencies which produce release from the bondage of form, entered into in Cancer as far as the mass of humanity is concerned (by this I mean the birth of the human kingdom) and in Pisces as far as the individual is considered. (EA p129-31)
Mercury falls in Pisces
I am not considering the orthodox astrological reasons for the exaltation and the fall of certain planets in certain signs, I am concerned with the effect of the waxing and the waning influence upon the subject, man. Bear this in mind and—at the same time—remember that we are occupied with the Great Illusion which it is the major task of man in this particular world cycle to master and dissipate, and so to inaugurate the reign of the Real.
It is the revelation of the Real which is the task all initiates undertake after the final experience of the twelve final tests in the twelve signs. Therefore, when we find that the power of Mercury is lessened in Pisces and that it finally "falls" in that sign, what is the esoteric and spiritual meaning? Simply, that after the stage of initiation in Capricorn, as the result of the reversal of the wheel and the consequent experiences, and after the triumph of Scorpio, the power of the mind lessens steadily till finally (like other aspects of form life in the three worlds) it comes to an end and its meaning and illuminating aspects between soul and physical brain are no longer required. The man, coming definitely into full soul consciousness, requires now no mediator but deals directly himself with his emanating source.
Mercury is then met with again under another name, this time as the Sun, mediating between the higher aspects—soul and spirit—for Mercury and the Sun are One. Through Mercury, the mind is illumined and relation is established between personality and the soul. As Mercury, the Sun—the mediator—shifts to a still higher plane and is no longer mediator between two different stages in consciousness but between life and consciousness itself; this is a very different matter and effects the higher understanding. This will necessarily be incomprehensible to you at present for it is not a mediatorship between differences but a fusion of what is already related. Are you any the wiser for that statement? (EA p131-32)
Decanates of Pisces
The same symbolic mode of interpretation must govern also our understanding of the three decanates. Both Leo and Sepharial give a list of the decanates and between them there is much resemblance but there is, however, an important difference. Leo approaches the closer to the esoteric interpretation of astrology whilst Sepharial is purely exoteric.
According to Sepharial, the three decanates are governed by Saturn—Jupiter—Mars, presenting opportunity to work off karma and to be successful in so doing and indicating the method employed, that of conflict and of war. Leo gives us Jupiter, the Moon and Mars. He indicates, therefore, the success which is incident to proved discipleship and consequent readiness for initiation, the seeing of the vision with which Jupiter rewards the disciple, and the experience which Vulcan confers.
Vulcan has been hitherto hidden, but its influence has steadily superseded all lunar control, for the personality or form side of life is lost to sight in the radiance of the Sun, the soul. The light of Vulcan and the light of the Sun are one light and these three—Mercury, Vulcan and the Sun—stand for a synthesis and a radiance which eventually dims the light of Mercury and it "falls" into the background and Vulcan too becomes invisible and only the Sun remains. We have consequently a vision of the Sun, the experience of the personality and effort, which is the mode of attainment governed by Mars. (EA p132-33)
Keywords of Pisces
The keywords of this sign are obvious in their implications. Where the personality is concerned and the wheel rotates in the normal manner for the ordinary average or undeveloped person, the Word is "And the Word said, Go forth into matter." The command of the soul to its instrument during the earlier stages of evolution goes forth and the response comes immediately from the one who "blinds the soul to truth, holding it in durance vile." These words you are amply able to interpret for yourselves and from your own standpoint which is the only standpoint of service to you, indicating to you what lies behind upon the path of evolution, the point upon the Path where you now stand and the immediate step, vision, experience and effort which lie ahead. (EA p133)
Pisces related to Aquarius and demonstrating the pervasiveness of wisdom
As one studies these twelve signs, it is interesting to trace the relation of consciousness to the preceding sign and to the succeeding sign. It is peculiarly so in connection with the sign Aquarius. The material, earthly quality of Capricorn becomes "dissolved into the air" in Aquarius. The individual "fish" of the other sign becomes eventually the soul, and soul quality emerges, and on the reversed wheel it demonstrates as the pervasiveness of wisdom (Pisces) and the universal love of the truly developed Aquarian. On the wheel as it "rolls onward into illusion," the wheel of the personality, the superficiality and the airy nature of the undeveloped Aquarian deepens gradually into the concrete and rocky material nature of the Capricornian. The average man in Aquarius puts all his wares into the window, and often in the room behind the window there is little to be found. Esoterically, the developed Aquarian puts all he has into his water pot, storing it there for service and giving it freely on demand to meet a need.
The sign Aquarius is also a dual sign and signifies two vibrations. It is here that its relation to Pisces emerges, for just as Pisces on the wheel of illusion, the Mutable Cross, stands for substance and bondage, in Aquarius, substance and the anima mundi or imprisoned soul begin to work in mutual tolerance, and in the higher Aquarian individual, soul and spirit are expressing themselves through substance. There is consequently an astrological relation between the band of stars in the constellation Pisces, which unites the two Fishes, and the quality and nature of Aquarius which relates and binds together into one working and synthetic whole.
The Aquarian recognises the bond which holds all together subjectively and in truth, whilst in Pisces the energy of relationship constitutes an imprisoning band which confines and holds captive. Think this out. It is an error to consider the margin of contact between two signs in the passage of the Sun to be in the nature of hard and fast frontiers or set boundary lines. Such is not the case. There are no rigid lines of demarcation separating two entirely different areas of experience and consciousness upon the solar path. It only appears to be so and this itself is part of the Great Illusion. (EA p136-37)
Consummating life experience on the three Crosses in Pisces, becoming Saviors
Planetary influences are unusually potent in Aquarius during this world cycle because it is, in a peculiar way, a culminating sign for the majority of people who proceed from Aries to Pisces upon the Fixed Cross.
A rare few consummate the experience of life upon the three Crosses in the sign Pisces, and so become world saviours. They know then, and only then, the highest aspect of the first ray as it expresses itself through the activity of Death. The bulk, however, of the world initiates climax their experience in Aquarius and become liberated world servers. They turn their backs upon all further progress for themselves in this cycle and on all satisfaction of their own spiritual aspiration and become carriers of the water of life to humanity, joining thus the ranks of the Hierarchy.
Those who achieve in Pisces and make the higher and further grade in their development pass into that centre to which we have given the name of Shamballa, but the bulk of the initiates and disciples remain attached to the second centre, that of the Hierarchy of Service. (EA p141)
Pisces and Capricorn reach a point of balance in Aquarius
We come now to a very interesting point in connection with Aquarius. There is apparently no planet which is either exalted or "falls" in this sign. The only planet affected is the Sun, whose power is lessened.
What is the symbolic significance of this?
It consists in the relation of Aquarius to Capricorn and of the Fixed Cross to the Cardinal Cross and of the third initiation to those succeeding it, of the point of balance reached between Pisces and Capricorn, which focus in Aquarius. I am not here considering the orthodox mathematical or astronomical reasons, for they are, in reality, dependent upon the subjective and spiritual reasons, and it is with these that we are concerned. One of the facts which will emerge in our consciousness as we study along these esoteric lines is that all the outer indications do not indicate truth but only point the way to the subjective realities of which the outer facts are but the illusory symbols. Ponder upon this and keep an open mind.
No planet is exalted in Aquarius and no planet falls in this sign because the true Aquarian—after due experience upon the Mutable Cross and the Fixed Cross—has reached a point of balance. He is held by none of the pairs of opposites but uses them both for spiritual ends. He is hindered neither by earth nor water (Capricorn and Pisces); [Page 147] he has surmounted the tests of both the processes of incarnation and initiation and so stands free, distributing energy and life, symbolised by the two wavy lines. (EA p146-47)
Pisces representing the 2nd Aspect
Each of these three is found on [Page 151] one of the Crosses and thus in themselves and in their relationship they constitute a complete unit. It is interesting to note how these three signs are either those of commencement (upon the Mutable Cross) or of consummation (upon the Fixed Cross). In the case where they stand for beginning we have:
1. Aries. . . . . . 1st Aspect. . . . . . . . . . Movement outward into incarnation. The Will
latent. to manifest. Experience upon the Cardinal
Cross.
2. Pisces. . . . . .2nd Aspect. . . . . . . . . .Desire for form existence. The Love or desire
latent. for material things. Constant mutation.
Experience upon the Mutable or Common
Cross.
3. Aquarius. . . . 3rd Aspect. . . . . . . . . .Consecration to the service of the lower self.
latent. Selfishness. Experience upon the fixed Cross.
When these three signs form the end of the cycle of expression upon the reversed wheel, then you have:
1. Aquarius. . . .3rd Aspect. . . . . . . . . Consecration to the service of the Whole. The
expressed. death or negation of all personality selfishness.
Culmination of experience upon the Fixed
Cross.
2. Pisces. . . . . .2nd Aspect. . . . . . . . . Emergence of a world saviour. Death of all
expressed. separative desire and love, even spiritual
longing and aspiration. Culmination of
experience upon the Mutable Cross.
3. Aries. . . . . . 1st Aspect. . . . . . . . . . Appearance of the will to cooperate with the
expressed. Plan. The death of Self-will. Culmination of
experience upon the Cardinal Cross.
(EA p150-51)
Death in Pisces after crystallisation in Capricorn
First of all, Capricorn is an earth sign, and in it we have expressed the densest point of concrete materialisation of which the human soul is capable. Man is then "of the earth, earthy" and is what the New Testament calls "the first Adam." In this sense, Capricorn holds in itself the seeds of death and finality—the death which takes place finally and eventually in Pisces. Ponder on this.
When crystallisation has reached a certain degree of density and so-called "hardness," it is easily shattered and destroyed and man, born in Capricorn, then brings about his own destruction; this is due to his fundamentally materialistic nature, plus the "blows of fate" which are the enactments of the law of karma. Again and again, a certain measure of concreteness is achieved, only again to undergo destruction, prior to the release of the life and the rebuilding of the form. (EA p158)
Humanity growing to respond to the influences of Pisces
In ancient days, as you may perchance have heard, there were only ten signs, and—at that time—Capricorn marked the end of the zodiacal wheel, and not Pisces as is at this time the case. The two signs of Aquarius and Pisces were not incorporated in the signs for the simple and sufficient reason that humanity could not respond to their peculiar influences; the vehicles of contact and the mechanisms for responses were not adequately developed. Originally, there were eight signs; then there were ten and now twelve.
1. In Lemurian days, during the early period of animal man and before humanity appeared on earth, in the interim period of development, eight signs influenced the planet and the kingdoms of nature found upon it. There was no response to the influences of Leo and Virgo. The mystery of the Sphinx did not exist and these two signs were not then part of the zodiacal wheel. Then individualisation took place and the seed of Christhood [Page 160] was planted in man and these two signs began to influence humanity, and gradually that influence was recognised and the zodiac was then known to have ten signs. The Mutable Cross dominated, but it was then the Tau, for Pisces was lacking and only Gemini, Virgo and Sagittarius were evidenced. Aries to Capricorn marked the circle of experience.
2. In Atlantean days, man had become so responsive to the planetary and solar influence that the door of initiation into hierarchical experience was opened and two more signs were added. These two signs were the higher correspondences of Leo and Virgo and were the polar opposites of these two: Aquarius and Pisces. Their influence became active and effective and thus they formed part of the zodiacal wheel because man began to respond to their potencies. It then became possible for the Fixed Cross to function esoterically in the life of humanity, and the first reversals of the wheel in the life of the advanced men of the period took place. It was this reversal which was the true cause of the great contest or battle between the Lords of the Dark Face (as they are called in The Secret Doctrine) and the Lords of Light—a contest which is today persisting. Certain men then reached the stage of discipleship wherein they could consciously mount the Fixed Cross and be prepared for a major initiation. This the Forces of Materiality and of Obstruction (as they are sometimes called) fought and the battle was fought out and conditioned in the sign Scorpio.
3. The initiates, in their turn, are being subjected to the impact of energies from Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces—an inflow of force from each of the three Crosses. These three forces enable the initiates to take the third initiation. (EA p159-60)
Pisces, the sign of all world saviours
You will note that the world disciples are related to the mass of men through their responsiveness to influences emanating from Gemini, and to each other through Scorpio. This produces in them the capacity to respond to test, to a sense of the vision (through the illumined eye of Taurus) and to use their power of individuality [Page 163] through a developed personality and through the potency of Leo. Initiates are brought into relation to the world disciples through the constellation Scorpio, to the hierarchical centre through Capricorn, and to the mass through Pisces, the sign of all world saviours.
Seven constellations are, therefore, predominantly brought into a close combination at the present moment of crisis and are responsible for world affairs as they are found today:
Cancer |
| The Cardinal Cross. "Both Gates stand wide."
Capricorn |
Taurus |
Leo | The Fixed Cross. "The Discipliples dominate the world."
Scorpio |
Gemini |
| The Mutable Cross. "World salvation is possible today."
Pisces |
(EA p162-63)
Pisces and the Path of Initiation
The third and fifth rays are peculiarly active upon the Path of Discipleship, just as the sixth and fourth are dominant upon the Path of Evolution and the first and seventh upon the Path of Initiation. The second ray controls and dominates all the other rays, as you well know.
Path Rays Planets Constellations
Evolution 6 and 4 Mars. Mercury Aries. Gemini. Cancer.
Virgo. Scorpio
Discipleship 3 and 5 Venus. Saturn Gemini. Sagittarius.
Capricorn.
Initiation 1 and 7 Vulcan. Uranus. Taurus. Libra. Pisces.
Pluto.
…
Fourth, on the Path of Initiation the activity of all the three Crosses is felt simultaneously through the medium of the "released powers" of Taurus, Libra and Pisces. You will note also that the first ray influence, expressing through Pluto and Vulcan, is only felt in a positive manner upon the Path of Discipleship. This first ray potency has only lately been experienced by humanity as a whole as it neared the stage of being the world disciple, and vast numbers relatively stood upon the Path of Discipleship and Probation. Hence the recent discovery of Pluto and the sensed power of Vulcan, veiled by the potency of Mercury and hidden behind the planet. (EA p165-66)
Pisces is Jerusalem
Moses, the Lawgiver on Mount Sinai, is Saturn in Capricorn imposing the law of karma upon the people. A clue to the significance of the Jewish people as a karmic clearing house can be found here. Ponder on those words "a karmic clearing house."
The Mount of Transfiguration in the New Testament is Venus in Capricorn when love and mind and will meet in the person of the Christ, and "He was transfigured" before all men. At the same time, He received the vision of the Father and of what He had to do as He "went up to Jerusalem," the place of death and likewise the city of peace.
This Jerusalem is Pisces. In Aquarius, Christ put His disciples in touch with the "man, bearing a pitcher of water," Aquarius, and in the upper room introduced them to union and unity under the symbolism of the communion feast. For that feast, humanity is today preparing, as we saw when studying the last constellation.
The astrological significance of the New Testament is as yet little understood. Christ was born in Capricorn, fulfilled the law under Saturn, initiated the era of intelligent brotherhood under Venus and is the perfect example of the Capricornian initiate who becomes the world Server in Aquarius, and the world Saviour in Pisces, thus completing the round of the zodiac and able to say triumphantly in Pisces "It is finished." (EA p167-68)
Neptune is esoterically related to Pisces
Neptune is the God of the waters, and is esoterically related to Pisces. It should be noted that both Neptune and Jupiter are exalted in Cancer, the great sign wherein the desire for incarnation finds its fulfilment; the power of both is lessened in Virgo, wherein the first signs of the Christ consciousness are felt; both fall in Capricorn, when the Christ life and consciousness come to full fruition. (EA p171)
World Saviour in Pisces
The man can then say with truth "Lost am I in light supernal,[yet on that light I turn my back." For him there remains now no goal but service. He therefore passes back through the gate of Cancer, but with his consciousness held steadily in the sign Aquarius. From being the world initiate in Capricorn he becomes an incarnated world server in Aquarius, and later a world saviour in Pisces. (EA p173-74)
Pisces unfolds the consciousness of Identification
6. Identification, governing liberation—Pisces. Divine consciousness.
I and the Father are one.
In these signs—Cancer, Leo, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces—you have the six signs which constitute the six pointed star of the human or fourth Creative Hierarchy; Cancer and Pisces marking the two extremes. (EA p179)
Pisces as an arm of the Mutable Cross
As you know, Sagittarius is one of the four arms of the Mutable Cross. An idea of the general symbology of this Cross, from the quality angle, can be gained if we give the two sets of characteristics which distinguish the man upon this Cross—both unevolved man and the aspirant to divinity. We might list these as follows, finding for each arm a distinctive phrase :
| Gemini—Changeableness. Instability. Interplay.
|
| Sagittarius—Ambitious desire. Direction. Orientation.
Unevolved man |
| Virgo—Material life. The cherishing of an idea.
|
| Pisces—Sensation. Mediumship. Fluidity.
| Gemini—Recognition of soul and form. Soul interplay.
|
| Sagittarius—One-pointed spiritual aspiration. Disciples.
Evolved man |
| Virgo—The mother of the Christ Child. Gestation.
|
| Pisces—The world Saviour. Mediatorship.
In connection with the above, it is interesting to note that the Twins set apart and unattached in Gemini become the Centaur, the man-beast, in Sagittarius, whilst Virgo, the Virgin, becomes the Fish goddess in the polar opposite, Pisces. A treatise could be written on the subject of the relation of the opposites in the zodiacal circle for they express spirit and matter and their inter-relation, plus the play of qualitative energies; they bear witness at the same time to the fact that these two are one and are simply the expression of great mutable, and yet fixed and initiated spiritual Lives. (EA p182-83)
Pisces as part of the "zodiacal decanate"
It is interesting to note that each of the great Sons of God Whose names are pre-eminent in the minds of men—Hercules, the Buddha and the Christ—are associated in the archives of the Great White Lodge with three special signs of the zodiac (which in a peculiar manner constitute the "zodiacal decanate") in each of which They passed from test to victory.
In Scorpio—Hercules became the triumphant disciple.
In Taurus—The Buddha achieved victory over desire and arrived at illumination.
In Pisces—The Christ overcame death and became the world saviour.
These three constellations, therefore, form a triangle of initiation of profound importance because it provides those conditions and that energy which will test and perfect the three aspects of the personality so that they are true reflections of the three divine aspects; they concern soul and body primarily and therefore their expression is through the Mutable Cross and the Fixed Cross but not the Cardinal Cross. We might add to the above the following:
1. Scorpio carries the test right down into the physical plane life, and then, when it is faced and handled there, the life of the man is carried up into heaven, and the problem which the test involved is solved by the use of the reasoning mind.
2. Taurus governs desire and carries the test into the emotional [Page 205] or astral plane, and carries desire-sensitivity up from the form side of life into that world of sensitive perception which we call the intuitional plane.
3. Pisces carries the test into the region of the mental processes, which is the reflection of the will aspect of divinity; the problem of the initiate in this sign is voiced by Christ in the words, "Father, not my will but Thine be done." The tests carry the self-will of the personality up into the region of the divine will and the result is inspiration and the emergence of a world saviour.
Ponder upon the above and learn the lessons of appetite, of desire and of self-will for they are many and useful. (EA p204-5)
4th Ray having a peculiar relation to the Piscean Age
Through these Rulers, two rays are brought into a potent controlling position in Scorpio; they are the sixth Ray of Devotion and the fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict, the latter having a peculiar relation to the mode of human development and the former to the methods of the Piscean age which is just passing. Mars and Mercury control and Mars is particularly active, owing to the fact that Mars is both the orthodox planet controlling the personality in Scorpio and also the esoteric planet conditioning the unfoldment of the disciple. (EA p209)
Death in Pisces
A study of the processes of death as the sign Scorpio conditions them and the processes of death as we see them working out in the sign Pisces would be of very real value. Death through the influences of Pluto and death through the influences of Mars are widely different. Death in Pisces through the energy of Pluto is transformation—a transformation so vital and so basic that the
"... Ancient One is no longer seen. He sinks to the depth of the ocean of life; he descends into hell, but the gates of hell hold him not. He, the new and living One leaves below that which has held him down throughout the ages and rises from the depths unto the heights, close to the throne of God."
The connection of these words with Christ, the present world Saviour, is obvious in their implications, and yet they were written in our archives over seven thousand years ago. Death in Scorpio is of a different nature and is also described in the same ancient writing in the following words:
"... Ancient One dies by drowning. Such is the test. The waters envelop him and there is no escape. He drowns. The fires of passion are then quenched. The life of desire ceases its appeal and to the bottom of the lake he now descends. Later, he re-ascends to Earth where the white horse waits his coming. And this he mounts, proceeding towards the second death" (that is, towards Pisces).
The reference here to Sagittarius is clear. The disciple—after the death of the personality and after the killing out of desire—goes on towards Pisces where again he dies "unto an eternal resurrection." In Scorpio there is the death of the personality, with its longings, desires, ambitions and pride. In Pisces there is the death of all attachments and the liberation of the soul for service upon an universal scale. Christ, in Pisces, exemplified the substitution of love for attachment. (EA p214-15)
Pisces, Neptune, 2nd initiation and the birth of the Fish God
In this world period and in a peculiar manner, as far as the race (Aryan) to which the Western world belongs, Neptune is known esoterically as the Initiator. In certain ancient formulas, the great Teacher of the West and the present world Initiator, Christ, is spoken of as Neptune, Who rules the ocean, whose trident and astrological symbol signifies the Trinity in manifestation and Who is the ruler of the Piscean Age. The formula runs as follows, speaking esoterically: "... the fish goddesses who have leapt from earth (Virgo) to water (Pisces) unitedly give birth to the Fish God (Christ) who introduces the water of life into the ocean of substance and thus brings light to the world. Thus does Neptune work." This is, however, a great mystery, revealed only at the time of the second initiation in which the control of the fluidic astral plane is demonstrated. (EA p219-20)
Pisces and Aries blended in "the sign of the Fish with the head of the Ram."
Eventually, in some mysterious way, there will be only ten signs of the zodiac again; Aries and Pisces will form one sign, for "the end is as the beginning." This dual and blended sign is called in some of the ancient books "the sign of the Fish with the head of the Ram." We shall then have
1. Aries-Pisces 6. Virgo-Libra
2. Taurus 7. Scorpio
3. Gemini 8. Sagittarius
4. Cancer 9. Capricorn
5. Leo 10. Aquarius
(EA p231)
Pisces—consummation of divine desire
The history of desire is to be found in the four signs of Taurus, Libra, Scorpio and Pisces.
1. Taurus—the Bull of Desire.—Material desire rules.
(Life.)
2. Libra—the balancing of desire.—The opposite objective to desire is the scales or balances.
(Balance.)
3. Scorpio—the victory of spiritual desire.—The soul triumphant.
(Quality.)
4. Pisces—consummation of divine desire.—The "Desire of all nations." The Cosmic Christ.
(Appearance.)
(EA p232)
Buddha and Christ are the world Saviours in relation to Taurus and Pisces
The other point of note and of a relative importance is that Gemini and Libra are the two strictly human signs; they are the signs of the ordinary man. Gemini upon the Mutable Cross stands for man's humanity, whilst Libra upon the Cardinal Cross rules man's subjective and spiritual life. The other signs in their consummation carry man beyond the stage of ordinary humanity and produce the following states of consciousness:
1. Aries and Virgo.—The Cosmic Christ. Universal and individual.
2. Taurus and Pisces.—The world Saviours; i.e., Buddha and Christ.
3. Leo and Aquarius.—The world Servers; i.e., Hercules.
4. Sagittarius and Capricorn.—The world Initiates; i.e., Masters.
5. Cancer and Scorpio.—The triumphant Disciples.
(EA p242-43)
Pisces as an arm of the Mutable Cross
This Mutable Cross is sometimes called "the Cross of Rebirth," emphasising the constant mutation of which it is the symbol and also the "Cross of Changing Lives." It pictorially represents the four critical points or movements in the span of existence of the soul in manifestation:
I. Gemini.
1. Essential unrelated duality. The Twins.
2. Sensed and recognised duality through
a. Mass fusion in Cancer.
b. Individual consciousness in Leo.
The stage of Humanity.
II. Virgo.
1. The period of the hidden germ of spiritual life.
2. The period of the active germ of spiritual life.
a. Gestation in the early stages.
b. The stage of quickened life.
The stage of Probation or Awakening.
III. Sagittarius.
1. Sense of duality ended. Fusion attained.
2. The one-pointed direct life.
The stage of Discipleship.
IV. Pisces.
1. Duality linked in synthesis. Compare symbols for Gemini and Pisces.
2. The emergence of the World Saviour.
The stage of Initiation.
Throughout this relation and as a result of the steady unfoldment of the soul principle runs the theme of service. In Gemini, the relation between the great duality of soul and body emerges in which, at this stage, the body or form serves the soul. In Virgo, matter or substance exchange or interchange their service and each serves the other. In Sagittarius, we find emerging the service of the One Life in terms of the service of the Hierarchy, the planetary expression of the idea of service, whilst in Pisces, there appears—as a result of the entire evolutionary process—the dedicated, trained and tested world Server or Saviour. It has been said that Virgo "involves the service of the immediately present" or in other words that God immanent evokes reaction from the form side and is thereby served. (EA p247-48)
Pisces and the 7th month of gestation
Today it would seem (curiously and convincingly) that we are entering into the eighth month of the gestation period; this is almost literally the case where humanity is concerned for—counting from Virgo to Aquarius, the sign into which we are now entering—we find that there are just eight signs: Virgo, Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, Aries, Pisces and Aquarius, and this is surely the guarantee that the birth of the new age, of the new consciousness and the new civilisation and culture is inevitable and sure. (EA p260-61)
Pisces and Birth of a world Saviour
Virgo, the Virgin, stands for the womb of time and passes the personality-soul (Leo-Virgo) through the three above stages or cycles. She stands also for the womb of form and for the nurturing mother, guarding the Christ principle within her own material substance until in "the fullness of time" she can give birth to the Christ child. There are three principal signs connected with the Christ principle in this world period:
1. Virgo.—Gestation—governing nine signs from Virgo to Capricorn, including Virgo.
2. Capricorn.—Labour—three signs from Capricorn to Pisces, until the third initiation, including Capricorn.
3. Pisces.—Birth—appearance of the world Saviour.
(EA p262)
Pisces as part of the triangle of the Mother or matter aspect
2. Cancer-Virgo-Pisces.—Constitute the triangle of the Mother or matter aspect, conditioned by intelligent activity. They indicate points of opportunity of an inner kind where consciousness is concerned, and therefore you have the recognition of mass, individual and group consciousness. (EA p266)
Pisces in a six-pointed star
It connotes mass life, leading to group life after the experience of initiation, for which its polar opposite, Capricorn, stands and which finds full expression in Aquarius which completes the experience of Leo and fuses it with that of Cancer and Capricorn. These six signs:
Cancer oooooLeo ................Virgo
Capricorn Aquarius Pisces
form another six-pointed star of profound significance which is the subjective counterpart of the six-pointed star (the interlaced triangles) which we call King Solomon's seal. This interlacing of the two above triangles constitutes what is called a triangle of humanity and—under the theories of the Science of Triangles—it concerns the relation of the individual to the mass of humanity and of the disciple to the group. These triangles warrant most careful study. (EA p275-76)
Virgo and Pisces are exoterically, Alpha and Omega
The relation existing between Virgo and Pisces (between the Virgin Mother and the Fish Goddesses) is well known, for they are polar opposites and their functions are interchangeable in a peculiar manner. In the revolution of the ordinary wheel, Aries and Scorpio mark the beginning and the end, and consummate in the rounded out and equipped personality. They are, exoterically, Alpha and Omega. In the life of the disciple, Virgo and Pisces stand in the same relation. Pisces consummates the work carried forward in this major world cycle. Some idea of the creative story above indicated can be gained if the tabulation of the nine constellations with their signs is studied.
1. Aries Beginning Cardinal Cross.
2. Gemini Relation Mutable Cross.
3. Taurus Desire Fixed Cross.
4. Cancer Movement Cardinal Cross.
5. Scorpio Test—Trial Fixed Cross.
6. Sagittarius Direction Mutable Cross.
7. Aquarius Service Fixed Cross.
8. Pisces Salvation Mutable Cross.
9. VIRGO THE MOTHER MUTABLE CROSS.
(EA p278)
Jupiter relating Pisces to three other signs
Jupiter rules four signs and each of them represents a different element out of the four which are expressing themselves in the three worlds of human evolution. The following tabulation will make this somewhat clearer:
Virgo Pisces Sagittarius Aquarius
Earth Water Fire Air
Hidden Christ Hidden Saviour Hidden Master Hidden Server.
Jupiter—ruler and the conveyor of EXPANSION
In this sign, Virgo, the place and the mode of expression of the planets are of paramount interest, though most esoteric in implication and most difficult to understand. (EA p280-81)
Pisces and the waters of purification
Fire always carries forward esoterically that which water has begun.
In Cancer, the purificatory waters of experience begin their beneficent work. This is begun upon the Cardinal Cross because that cross deals only with wholes and, therefore, with mass experience.
In Scorpio, the purificatory waters of testing and trials are applied. This takes place upon the Fixed Cross and their effect is drastic in the extreme.
In Pisces, the waters of purification are applied through daily life and the processes of incarnation; they apply to the "fish swimming in the waters of matter and finding there its sustenance." This is upon the Mutable Cross of ordinary material existence and experience. Thus the influence of the three crosses is brought to bear upon the incarnated Son of God upon the wheel of ordinary life and in the usual order. Upon the wheel reversed, the fire takes the place of water and burns away all dross.
Purification of the entire nature is thus achieved gradually, and the man becomes sensitive to the influences which can be brought to bear upon him when the fiery triplicity plays its part and the influence of Aries-Leo-Sagittarius begins to re-orient him towards universality, self-consciousness and one-pointed attitudes. As we go on with our study, the significance of this statement will increasingly appear. I am hinting at matters of spiritual and esoteric importance because this sign, Leo, is of paramount control in the life of the aspirant. He has to know himself through true self-awareness before he can know that divine spirit which is his true Self and know also his fellowmen. (EA p287-88)
Pisces and the consummation of the human way
This triangle expresses the life of humanity and it demonstrates finally the perfection or consummation of the human way. Another triangle is of a somewhat similar nature, Leo-Virgo-Pisces, but these three produce a still more subtle expression of consciousness.
1. Leo.—The self-conscious man. Personality. Lower unity.
2. Virgo.—The latent Christ life or principle. Duality.
3. Pisces.—The group conscious soul. The world Saviour. Unity.
(EA p290)
Fish Goddesses of the sign Pisces
Cancer is one point of the watery triplicity, and the symbolism which underlies the three water signs is most interesting in one particular direction. You have, as you know, the Crab, the Scorpion and the Fish Goddesses of the sign Pisces. In ancient Lemuria, the symbol of Pisces was a woman with the tail of a fish, and of this symbol the legendary mermaid is the memory.
It was only in late Atlantean times (when the conscious sense of duality was becoming present in the minds of the advanced humanity of the period) that the woman part of the symbol was dropped altogether and the two linked Fishes took the place of the fish Goddesses. You have, therefore, the Crab, the Scorpion with the sting in its tail and the Fish.
The slow moving Crab, identified with its dwelling place and carrying its house upon its back, lives upon the land (physical plane life) and also in the sea (the life of the emotions); the Scorpion is rapid in movement, deadly in its effect upon men around it and is a creature of the land; it is also the symbol of the transformed Crab and the result of the evolutionary process, and indicates the dangerous nature of the man who is not transformed and is therefore harmful and hurtful to others; the Fishes indicate the man from whom the symbol of materiality has been taken by the removal of half of the original symbol, thus indicating freedom from matter.
The three water signs give us, therefore, a brief and symbolic history of man's growth and true personality development. It is a picture of the law of cause and effect. These thoughts you can elaborate for yourself and thus arrive at the evident implications. (EA p317-18)
Pisces, initiation and the influence of Shamballa
There is also a significant relationship between five signs which are deeply esoteric in their nature and their effects when swept into this particular interplay. They are only called into activity during the return half of the wheel of life or the "wheel of living action or of conscious undertaking" as it is called in the Old Commentary. This name is given to the wheel as it turns anti-clockwise from Aries to Pisces via Taurus.
This fivefold relationship is only established upon the Path of Discipleship and is brought about by the esoteric linking of Cancer-Virgo-Scorpio-Capricorn-Pisces. In the future horoscopes of disciples, this significant interplay of forces will be recognised as dominating the chart at a particular and peculiar stage of discipleship. In this case, disciples will be born in one or other of these signs or with one of other of these signs rising.
You have two signs of water and earth (Cancer and Virgo) in the stage of sub-conscious emphasis wherein everything is latent and hidden. Human consciousness is only embryonic in Cancer, for it is the mass mind which dominates and not the individual mind. In Virgo, the Christ life or consciousness is hidden and the Christ Child is as yet embryonic in the womb of matter and of time, and during this stage, the emphasis is upon the form which veils and hides the reality. The human soul and the divine soul (the essential duality) are there but their presence is not easily detected. In Scorpio comes a point of transition, of change and of re-orientation.
That which has been hitherto hidden appears and is brought to the surface by means of the experience, the tests, the trials and the "sting of life." In Capricorn— as a result of the effects of the influences of Cancer, Virgo and Scorpio—the disciple begins to demonstrate the capacity to express the life of two kingdoms, at least in some measure, and is a developed human being and also a citizen of the kingdom of God.
Therefore, for an initiate and for a period of three incarnations, the four signs of revelation (Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio and Capricorn) intensify their effect upon him, until in the fourth incarnation he begins to respond to the inner influence of Pisces. He thus demonstrates his ability to react to the Shamballa influence and, when this influence is established, he goes out to salvage and to save. He acts consciously as a world mediator. Therefore, it might be stated that:
1. In Cancer, the influence of the human Hierarchy begins to make its presence felt and to include the dualism of man. This emerges clearly in Virgo. Soul and body are closely related and knit together in one form. Man is a conscious personality, and this is a result of the Cancer experience, consummated in Virgo.
Such is the way of humanity. The human centre is active.
2. In Scorpio, the influence of the occult Hierarchy begins to set its seal on the human being, and his essential duality is put to the test. This is preparatory to a new and higher unity. He is at the miserable stage of being neither the soul nor the form—the stage of transition.
Such is the way of the disciple. The hierarchical centre is affecting him powerfully.
3. In Pisces, the influence of Shamballa claims the initiate as its field of activity and the dualism of soul and spirit emerges instead of that of soul and body which has hitherto been of major importance. The power of the [Page 320] form to hold the soul in captivity has been negated and tests and trials of the initiate up to the third initiation are directed to this end.
Such is the way of the initiate. (EA p318-20)
The Light of Pisces
12. Pisces—The Light of the World. This is the light, revealing the light of life itself. It ends for ever the darkness of matter.(EA p330)
Pisces in the Keynotes—Pisces takes from all the signs
9. Sagittarius Self-centredness. One-pointedness. The Director of men.
Experimental approach. Directed approach. The controller of the
Gate.
Keynote: Sagittarius, the disciple becomes the Saviour in Pisces.
10. Capricorn The earthbound soul. The one who crosses The Conqueror of death.
the water.
Fluid. Initiated.
Keynote: Capricorn consummates the work of Scorpio.
11. Aquarius All things to all men. Dedication to the soul. The Server of all men.
The burden of the self. The burden of humanity. The burden of the world.
Keynote: Aquarius releases Virgo from her load.
12. Pisces Responsiveness to Sensitivity to soul. Spiritual responsibility.
environment.
The medium. The Mediator. The Saviour.
Keynote: Pisces takes from all the signs.
(EA p333)
Pisces on the Mutable Cross
3. Through a study of the Mutable Cross—Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces—he can arrive at the significance:
a. Of disciples.
b. Of group activity.
c. Of the second initiation.
(EA p335)
Pisces in interplay with the opposite sign Virgo
6. Virgo-Pisces.—Virgin matter attracts the soul and the divine Mother becomes more important than the son. The life of the soul is hidden.
… 6. Pisces-Virgo.—The form reveals and releases the indwelling soul. The Saviour of the world appears and nurtures the hidden souls in Virgo. (EA p339)
Pisces is the starting point for the greater zodiacal round
In this world cycle, Gemini, Taurus and Aries are three subjective energies or the three conditioning signs which lie behind manifestation. They lie behind the form-taking experience in Cancer and they also lie behind manifestation in Pisces. Pisces is the sign with which the modern world (and by that I refer to an immense long period of time) is primarily concerned, for Pisces is the starting point on the clockwise wheel at this time for the greater zodiacal round of approximately 25,000 years—the date of which beginning is not yet revealed to the modern astrologer or subject to revelation through his science. As we study Gemini and Taurus (Aries we have already considered) let us bear in mind their cause-initiating nature and the fact that they have a more specifically psychic effect and subjective influence than their strictly phenomenal and physical effects would lead one to imagine. (EA p344)
Pisces and the active appearance of the Christ consciousness in form
In each of the Crosses of the Heavens there is one sign and influence which, in any world cycle, dominates the other three. Such dominating effects necessarily change when a world cycle changes, but for the present cycle, Gemini determines the paramount influence within the fourfold influence of the Mutable Cross. The main objective of these four energies is to produce that constant flux and periodic change in time and space which will provide a field of adequate experience for the unfoldment of the Christ life and consciousness. This is the case cosmically speaking, and also from the standpoint of a solar system, of a planet and of a human being. The field of development for the lower three kingdoms is dependent upon the status and energy-distributing power of humanity as a whole. We might, therefore, recognise the following facts anent the Mutable Cross:
Gemini.—This is the force which produces the changes needed for the evolution of the Christ consciousness at any particular point in time and space. It is always compatible to the requirement.
Virgo.—This is the nurturing force of substance itself, subject to the nine cyclic changes of the cosmic gestation period; it fosters and protects the embryonic Christ life, preparing for manifestation or a divine incarnation.
Sagittarius.—Is the energetic activity of the life force, demonstrating at the sixth month, when—esoterically speaking—the three aspects of the form nature and the three aspects of the soul are integrated and functioning. It is this integration which sometimes makes the sixth month of physical human gestation so critical.
Pisces.—This is the life expression and active appearance [Page 346] of the Christ consciousness in form; it is also the energetic appearance (symbolically speaking) of a world saviour.
This Mutable Cross is, therefore, peculiarly a Christian symbol and significantly connected with the Christ life and with the unfoldment of a world saviour and is particularly potent during the anti-clockwise turning of the Great Wheel. This fact will emerge more clearly when astrologers are able to determine accurately the point of development and the spiritual status of the subject whose horoscope is under consideration. (EA p345-46)
Triangulation via Pisces
For instance, in the case of an initiate whose Sun is in Leo, the triangle of constellation energies determining the interpretation of the horoscope would be Leo-Aquarius-Gemini. When dealing with a subject whose Sun is in Gemini itself, the conditioning triangle would be Gemini-Sagittarius and Pisces—the latter forming a part of this triangle because it marks both the end and the beginning and is, for this great cycle of the zodiac, the Alpha and the Omega. (EA p347)
Pisces and the submerged Fish
God is love, we are assured, and this statement is both an exoteric and an esoteric truth. This underlying love of Deity reaches our solar system primarily through Gemini, which forms, with the constellation of the Great Bear and the Pleiades, a cosmic triangle. This is the triangle of the cosmic Christ and is the esoteric symbol lying behind the cosmic Cross. There is ever the eternal triangle to be found behind the fourfold phenomenal appearance. Speaking symbolically and in the words of the Old Commentary:
"Upon the golden triangle, the cosmic Christ appeared; His head in Gemini; one foot upon the field [Page 349] of the Seven Fathers and the other planted in the field of the Seven Mothers (these two constellations are sometimes called the Seven Brothers and the Seven Sisters. A.A.B.). Thus for aeons, the Great One stood, His consciousness in-turned, aware of three but not of four. Intent, with suddenness, He heard a sound go forth.... Arousing to that cry, He stretched Himself, reached forth both arms in understanding love, and, lo, the Cross was formed.
"He heard the cry of the Mother (Virgo), of the Seeker (Sagittarius), and of the submerged Fish (Pisces). Then, lo, the Cross of change appeared, though Gemini remained the head. This is the mystery." (EA p348-49)
Pisces in the “Star of Christ”
This digression was necessary at this point because it is essential that esoteric astrologers should realise that these three signs, Aries, Taurus and Gemini are (from the standpoint of the disciple and initiate) purely subjective in their effects within the life of these signs. They can only find outward expression in the life of the subject and be consciously directed and controlled in Cancer, thus leading to the great liberation which takes place in the polar opposite to Cancer, Capricorn and also in Aquarius and Pisces. This of course refers to effects upon man upon the reversed wheel. In a certain sense these six signs constitute two major triangles of force.
I have here indicated to you the higher or spiritual aspect of King Solomon's seal. When these six types of energy are fused and blended and so form one unity, you will then find emerging the "Star of Christ." This is one of the symbols of the sixth initiation and is the inner correspondence [Page 390] of the star with which you are familiar. In order to understand this more clearly I would point out to you that:
1. That which is begun or "entered into" at the first initiation is consummated and completed in Pisces. (EA p389-90)
Pisces cyclical influence
3. The great sweep of the sun around the greater zodiac (a period of 250,000 years, or a complete round) came to an end when the sun entered Pisces over two thousand years ago. This process of passing out of, or entering into, a particular sign and cyclic influence covers a period of five thousand years where this greater round or cycle is concerned. This period of five thousand years covers the complete cycle of transition until complete freedom to function under the inspiration of the new sign is completed. We are, therefore, not yet free from incidental turmoil.
4. The passing of our Sun out of the sign Pisces into the sign Aquarius is another of the conditions bringing about the present confusion. This confusion of forces in the solar system is notably affecting our planet. In the process of passing from sign to sign, as for instance transitting out of Pisces into Aquarius as is now the case, the period covered is approximately five hundred years. (EA p409-10)
Pisces, Sirius, Uranus and Hierarchy related
Next I will deal with an analysis of three groups of triangles which are of major importance to humanity at this time and which follow upon information earlier given. These groups of triangles emanate energies which reach through space to the individual man and, therefore, cannot he ignored. They are:
The Great Bear The Pleiades Sirius
Leo Capricorn Pisces
These transmit energy via
Saturn Mercury Uranus
Reaching the following centres
Planetary head centre Planetary ajna centre Planetary heart
From thence to
Disciple's head centre Disciple's ajna centre Disciple's heart centre
and eventually control
The base of the spine The throat centre the solar plexus
(EA p421)
Pisces, unfoldment of the Human Hierarchy, and the 5 Continents
2. Five signs related to the unfoldment, in time and space, of the Human Hierarchy. These five signs are of major conditioning importance and may be enumerated as follows:
a. Cancer
b. Leo
c. Scorpio
d. Capricorn
e. Pisces
These five signs are related in the planetary sense to the five great races of which our present race, the Aryan, is the fifth. These five races, under the influence of the five signs, produce the externalisations which are called the five continents—Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, America. These five continents are to the planetary Life what five major endocrine glands are to the human being. They are related to five centres. (EA p426)
Pisces, Sirius, Uranus and Hierarchy related
In the transit of energy from a major centre to a human being and when the energy is finally grounded in the disciple's centre, you will notice that it is then a fusion of six energies. These three groups of energies (each of them a fusion of six) make the dominating energies, controlling the human being, to number eighteen; this holds the clue to the mystery of the "mark of the beast" which is 666. This is the number of the active intelligent man and distinguishes his form nature from his spiritual nature which is 999. These three lines or streams of energy in man may be listed as follows:
I. II. III.
Will. Purpose. Love-Wisdom. Active Intelligence.
Spirit. Consciousness. Form.
1. The Great Bear Sirius The Pleiades.
Cosmic. Cosmic. Cosmic.
2. Leo Pisces Capricorn.
Zodiacal. Zodiacal. Zodiacal.
3. Saturn Uranus Mercury.
Systemic. Systemic. Systemic.
4. SHAMBALLA HIERARCHY HUMANITY.
Earth. Earth. Earth.
Planetary head centre. Planetary heart centre. Planetary ajna centre.
I. II. III.
Will. Purpose. Love-Wisdom. Active Intelligence.
Spirit. Consciousness. Form.
5. Head centre Heart centre Ajna centre.
Initiate Disciple Aspirant.
Egoic purpose Egoic love Spiritual mind (abstract).
6. Base of spine Solar plexus Throat centre.
Initiate Disciple Aspirant.
Personal Will Personal desire Personal creativity. (EA p427-28)
Pisces, Sirius and Uranus
The central light of Sirius shone through the eye of the Son; the vision came. The light of wisdom penetrated into the waters and cast the radiance of the Heavens into the depths. At this attractive call, the goddess rose unto the surface (the fish-goddess, the symbol of Pisces. A.A.B.) and welcomed the light within the depths and grasped it as her own. She saw the Sun, having seen her Son, and from that day the Sun has never left her. There is no darkness. There is always light.
And then the heavens within the ring-pass-not responded to the light from Sirius which, passing through the sea of Pisces, lifted the Fishes into the heavenly sphere (Uranus) and thus a lesser triple light appeared, the radiant sun of suns, the watery light of Pisces, the heavenly light of Uranus. This light descended on the waiting sphere and lit the galaxy of little lights upon the Earth. A Hierarchy of Light emerged from its own place; the planet was alight.
(EA p431-32)
Pisces, Sirius and Uranus continued
a. Pisces is particularly potent at present in the life of Humanity owing to its being the sign which is now passing out of influence as we progress upon the great wheel of the zodiac. It is this sign with its combination of energies which has produced such a potent vibratory activity in Humanity that it can successfully and eventually enact the role of World Saviour. Of this salvation, Pisces is the sign. Pisces is also the sign of [Page 438] death, as you know, and in its death aspect we see the Piscean correspondence to the first aspect, the destroyer aspect of the Logos. This death aspect is naturally active at the close of the Piscean age and is consequently bringing about the present death of form in all the three worlds.
b. Uranus is the planet of occultism for it veils "that which is essential; it hides that which must be discovered and, at the right moment, it transmits knowledge of the hidden mystery." Today, for the mass of men, occultism is non-existent; for the aspirant and the disciple occultism is rapidly becoming a source and system of revelation as they penetrate into the wisdom of the Hierarchy.
The triangle of Pisces-Uranus-Hierarchy is becoming magnetically attractive to the triangle of Humanity. Uranus and Mercury in combination are dualities which the disciple learns to resolve and in the process of this resolution he shifts his focus out of the human kingdom into the fifth kingdom, the Hierarchy of souls. Pisces and Capricorn in unison bring about those changes which "lift the disciple out of the waters, wherein he is rapidly drowning, on to the mountain top from whence he can watch the recession of the waters. Thus does he know himself initiate."
The present world crisis should and will see a close merging of the two triangles in a most potent manner and this partial synchronisation (for close though it may be it will not yet be a process of general identification) will produce the sixfold energy needed to bring in the new sixth race and the new world period wherein fellowship and brotherhood will be manifest in all human relations.
Triangle One is produced by the inter-relation of energies from Leo, Saturn and Shamballa. Its potency is naturally felt more directly in the triangle of the Hierarchy than in that of Humanity. These three energies are sometimes called (in an effort to make understanding more easy and to simplify comprehension) the "triple energy of WILL":
1. The will of self-determination—Leo.
2. The will of sacrifice—Pisces.
3. The will to choose—Capricorn.
because the Shamballa force lies behind the other two triangles and is the recipient of energy from the three above constellations, blending them into the united expression of will, and thus proves to be the custodian of divine purpose. The triangles of which the Hierarchy and Humanity are the expression are becoming responsive to Shamballa—the hierarchical centre greatly so and the human centre gradually so.
(EA p438-39)
Pisces, Sirius and Uranus continued part 2
At the same time, it will be obvious to you that, in relation to these simple triangles, certain interlocking triangles also emerge, as for instance the zodiacal triangle of Leo-Pisces-Capricorn and the allied planetary triangle of Saturn-Uranus-Mercury.
These two triangles pour their six streams of force into our three planetary centres at this time, vitalising and stimulating the planetary triangle of Shamballa-Hierarchy-Humanity. Behind these three stands a cosmic triangle, emanating three streams of energy which pour into and through the three lesser triangles, thus potently affecting every kingdom in nature. This cosmic triangle is that of the Great Bear—Sirius—the Pleiades. (EA p441)
Sirian force via Pisces to the Hierarchy
It is interesting to note that the seventh Ray of Ceremonial Law and Order works through Uranus which is today the transmitter of Sirian force via Pisces to the Hierarchy. [Page 445] From that "middle centre" it passes to that sensitive band of disciples, aspirants and workers to whose hearts and hands is committed the heavy task, incident to the re-organisation and the rebuilding of the shattered world structure. The seventh ray has sometimes been called a peculiar name by Knowers. It is regarded as the "Ray of Ritualistic Decency." It aids and inaugurates the appearing of a new world order, based on a spiritual drive and on aspiration, mental freedom, loving understanding and a physical plane rhythm which provides opportunity for full creative expression. To bring this about, energy from Shamballa (embodying the will-to-good) is fused and blended with the organising energy of the seventh ray and then carried to humanity along the stream of love which emanates from the Hierarchy itself. Pisces governs this effort of the Hierarchy because the highest aspect of Pisces which humanity can at this time in any way comprehend is that of Mediatorship. This is the energy of mediation, of right relationship. (EA p444-45)
Universal consciousness in Pisces
Leo Virgo Aquarius Pisces
Self-conscious- Christ conscious- Group conscious- Universal conscious-
ness ness ness ness
They are basically concerned with the expression of consciousness on the outer external planes of expression or with the fusion of soul and form in order to demonstrate fully a state of awareness. These facts will become apparent if the four esoteric planets connected with these four constellations are considered and related:
The Sun The Moon Jupiter Pluto
The Soul The Form Beneficent Life Death
It will also be apparent to the astrologer of the future along which lines the chart of the soul must be drawn; the major triangles and the three cosmic Crosses will control his deductions as to the unfoldment of consciousness. The triangles indicate possibility; the Crosses indicate process and points of crisis. (EA p468)
Pisces giving awareness of the group, of the whole and of the universe
These three constellations are Leo—Virgo—Pisces. They are spoken of esoterically as "the Producers of that which knows, the Informers of that which is awakened and the Constructors of the modes of fusing Wisdom. They produce a unity; They shatter that which They have produced only again to produce it in greater beauty and in wider fullness."
These words are clear. This triangle is, at this time, an inverted one with the Leo energies in the closest contact with our planetary life. The following triangle will show this more clearly.
[Diagram]
These three are connected definitely and increasingly with the unfoldment of human consciousness in three main aspects. ...
... Another stream of energy is also pushing through and producing effects upon those in the human family who not only respond to the Leo force and are consequently individuals in their own consciousness but are responding also to the steadily expanding Christ-consciousness; of this they are becoming increasingly aware in their own individual experience. This is the higher aspect of the energy of Pisces; it is awareness of the group, of the whole and of the universe. It is the energy of buddhi, the higher aspect of the lower psychic nature; it is the aspect of the mediator in contradistinction to the medium. It is intuitional control instead of the intellectual overlordship of Leo and the limitations of Virgo.
These three energies are today playing potently on humanity, producing:
1. The self-consciousness of man, as he emerges out of the mass.
2. The recognition of the Christ life and nature, as the aspirant for the first initiation emerges out of the group of world individuals.
3. The awareness, universal in nature, of the initiate, as he emerges out of the ranks of the world disciples.
All this is, therefore, brought about at this time by the steady inflow of the energies of Leo-Pisces-Virgo and these lie behind the very rapid unfoldment of the three types of consciousness to he found in varying degrees in humanity today.
There are, as I pointed out earlier, seven great crises in connection with the human being upon the path of evolution; they cover the earlier, the later and the final stages of his growth. These it should be borne in mind are precipitated through the conditioning influences of seven great constellations. Let us consider them for a moment. They are:
THE CRISES OF THE SOUL
Crisis Quality Constellation Cross
1. Crisis of Incarnation Individualisation Cancer Cardinal
2. Crisis of Orientation Reversal Aries Cardinal
3. Crisis of Initiation Expansion Capricorn Cardinal
4. Crisis of Renunciation Crucifixion Gemini Mutable
5. Crisis of the Battlefield Conflict Scorpio Fixed
6. Crisis of the Birthplace Initiation Virgo Mutable
7. Crisis of Burning ground Liberation Leo Fixed
You will note that two of the constellations which we have just been considering—Leo and Virgo—are to be found in this list. Five constellations are not so intimately concerned with the mass human crises but are more definitely and specifically related to the unfoldment of the individual disciple. These are: Sagittarius, Libra, Taurus, Pisces and Aquarius. Pisces has, however, at this time a unique relation to the seven constellations which produce the great human crises; it also completes the final united effort of the Triangle: Leo, Virgo, Pisces. It has been the steady impact of Piscean force which has at long last brought humanity, the world disciple, to the very door of initiation.
For over two thousand years, Piscean influence has been playing upon mankind; it has brought about the demand for world adjustment; it has developed the international spirit and has led to the formation of groups in every department [Page 473] of human living and so laid the foundation for the future synthesis in Aquarius. The influence of this triangle finds symbolic expression in the life of the self-conscious individual who reaches self-awareness in Leo; in the culturing care of Virgo and the final self-release in Pisces. (EA p469-73)
Pisces and the perfected soul
We have here three triangles but, at the same time, only seven influences for the effects of the conditioning forces of the two triangles predominantly active in the first two cycles are fused and blended in the third. These blended influences (with the aid of the remaining five constellations, Sagittarius, Libra, Taurus, Pisces and Aquarius) enable the disciple to escape out of the human kingdom into the kingdom of souls. We have therefore:
1. Seven constellations
Cancer, Aries, Gemini, Scorpio, Capricorn, Virgo, Leo, which bring the man from the stage of individualisation to the Path of Discipleship.
2. Eight constellations (which include three out of the seven) which bring the disciple from the stage of selfhood to that of the self-initiated and perfected soul.
It is not my intention to analyse these crises. These, the student who is in earnest and who is observant can work out for himself. (EA p475)
Virgo is consummated in Pisces
The astrological symbols for Virgo and Scorpio are triple in nature—the only two which are. When the disciple grasps the meaning behind this triplicity, he will be ready to grasp the significance of this abstruse science and to work with the new astrology. Virgo and Scorpio are two signs connected with the growth of the Christ consciousness; they mark critical points in the soul's experience—points of integration wherein the soul is consciously at-one-ing itself with the form and at the same time with spirit.
I said the soul's experience, not the experience of the man upon the physical plane. When the experience undergone in Virgo is consummated in Pisces and the tests of Scorpio have led to illumination in Taurus, then the effect of these four energies (Virgo, Pisces, Scorpio, Taurus) will be to make man the true triangle, expressing the three divine aspects or energies as they come from the three major conditioning constellations: the Great Bear, the Pleiades and Sirius. (EA p480-81)
Pisces.—Resurrection through sacrifice.
Hercules—Scorpio.—Strength through testing.
Buddha—Taurus.—Illumination through struggle.
Christ—Pisces.—Resurrection through sacrifice.
(EA p487)
Pisces and the 2nd Ray
c. Gemini is only found in the triangle of Ray II and at this time, Virgo and Pisces are carrying the major task of transmitting second ray energy. Today the world is focussed (spiritually or materially) and the fluctuations of the pairs of opposites are much lessened temporarily. Gemini, therefore, is the inactive point of the triangle, though still potent from the esoteric angle of the individual disciple or initiate. (EA p491)
Pisces and the mystery of veiling
It is only in the present cycle that the Sun and Moon "veil" certain planets and are the exoteric symbols for certain esoteric forces. As evolution proceeds, the planets will not be veiled. Their influences will not be so remote. At present the mechanism of the majority of the human family is not tuned to the reception of the rays from Vulcan, Uranus or Neptune whilst Pluto at present only evokes response from groups or from those disciples who are enough evolved rightly to respond.
The three veiled planets—Vulcan, Uranus and Neptune are all sacred planets, embodying first, seventh and sixth ray energies. Vulcan is never an exoteric ruler and only comes into real activity when a man is on the Path, whilst Uranus and Neptune are rulers of the eleventh and twelfth houses, and govern Aquarius and Pisces. The implications will be clear to you. (EA p509)
Leo, Capricorn and Pisces triangle
There exists at this time an inter-relation between three of the constellations upon which I would like somewhat to enlarge, because their potency and the climax of their inter-relation is being reached at this time. From 1975 on, that potency will greatly lessen until it fades out. The period of this interplay of three major energies and their focussed potent effect upon our planet began in 1875, achieved momentum in 1925, will reach its highest expression (for good or evil) in 1945 and will then decline slowly until 1975. These three constellations are: Leo, Capricorn and Pisces. These are curiously and most mysteriously related to the fourth kingdom in nature and therefore to the evolution and the destiny of the human family. Add to these the emerging energy of Aquarius, and you have four energies which are playing upon the vehicles of men and producing peculiar effects—both destructive and constructive.
… Leo.—Ruler: The Sun, veiling Uranus, the planet of occultism, and that which governs group relations, organisations and the eleventh House. It relates the Leo influence to Aquarius.
Capricorn.—Ruler: Venus, governing the second House, which is concerned with economics, the distribution of money and metals and which rules Taurus, the "seed house" of illumination and the new emerging light. Venus also rules Libra exoterically and the seventh House wherein enemies are recognised and unions and friendships achieved.
Pisces.—Ruler: Pluto, governing the eighth House, the house of death, of dissolution, of detachment and ruling Scorpio, the sign of testing and of discipleship. (EA p537, 538)
Synthesis of evolution as displayed by Pisces on the fixed cross
In the study of the Crosses, the true meaning of their influence will only appear as you begin to think in terms of synthesis or of the relation of the four streams of energy, flowing unitedly upon and through any form of divine manifestation. This is by no means an easy thing to do, for the ability to think synthetically is only just beginning to appear in the foremost minds of the race. It can be illustrated, and then only analytically (which ever negates synthesis) by remarking in connection with the Mutable Cross, for instance, that the [Page 562] synthesis of evolution, its problem and its goal all appear in a united, whole presentation when the influences are viewed as follows:
1. Gemini—the presentation of duality.
2. Virgo—the presentation of blending life and form.
3. Sagittarius—the presentation of focussed energy.
4. Pisces—the presentation of a blended radiance.
This culminating radiance is the result of the focus of life, intention, and energy into a "radiant point of power." You have been told that in connection with the Mutable Cross at this time the sign Pisces is the most potent and when the work of the Mutable Cross has been accomplished, the acquiescing disciple passes onto the Fixed Cross and prepares for the tests and trials of initiation. (EA p561-62)
Pisces and the unbroken contact with the Father in the Heaven
Putting it into the simplest terms and thereby necessarily limiting significances, a man will endeavour, when in Sagittarius, to practise one-pointedness along some one line; when in Virgo, he will know that opportunity to bring the form more under the influence of the hidden Christ is possible and that, in Pisces, sensitivity to the higher impression is his right and privilege. All these four possibilities, in regard to the advanced initiate are beautifully demonstrated for us in the life of Jesus, the Master on the sixth ray.
The Gemini aspect of His life is shown in the perfect fusion of the basic duality found in humanity: the human and the divine.
The Virgo aspect came into expression in His twelfth year when He said: "Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business," thereby indicating the subordination of the form life to the will of the indwelling Christ; this was consummated when "divinity descended upon Him" at the Baptism.
The Sagittarian energy enabled Him to say, when confronted with full knowledge of the imminent sacrifice which He would have to make: "I must go up to Jerusalem," and, we read, He then "set His face" and trod the Path of the Saviour, leading to the liberation of humanity.
The Piscean aspect in its highest expression is demonstrated by His sensitivity to immediate and unbroken contact with His "Father in Heaven"; He was in constant communication with the Monad, thereby proving to the world that He was initiated into states of consciousness of which the third initiation is but the beginning. (EA p564-65)
Pisces and the 2nd Ray triangle
3. PISCES. In this sign the work is consummated and the will of the Father works out through the second ray will as the will-to-save. In Gemini, therefore, you have the two, the pair of opposites and the will-to-relate; in Virgo, you have their work in cooperation, the nurturing of the life of that second ray phenomenon, a Christ, the consummation of the task of matter and its elevation into heaven. In
Pisces, you have the consummation of the work of that which the matter aspect has made possible, and the Christ emerges as the world saviour. All this has taken place through the will aspect of the second ray, focussed in Shamballa, expressing itself through humanity and consummated in the Hierarchy. Here you have the whole story of unity, brought about by the life and the will of the second ray, producing the emergence of the Christ consciousness and the appearing in objectivity of the Christ principle.
In time and space and from the angle of humanity, the triangle of constellations is Virgo, Gemini and Pisces and not the order as here given, which is Gemini, Virgo, Pisces; the latter is the angle from the standpoint of Shamballa. (EA p627-28)
Keynotes of Pisces
- Pisces.—And the Word said: Go forth into matter.
… - 12. Pisces.—I leave the Father's Home and turning back, I save.
(EA p653-54)
Saturn and Jupiter in Pisces and the Messiah
8. "The sign of the Messiah's coming is the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the sign of Pisces." (III. 152.)
Pisces and Pralaya
5. "When the sun passes away behind the 30th degree of Capricorn and will reach no more the sign Pisces, then the Night of Brahma has come." (II. 612.)
PISCES—THE TWELFTH SIGN OF THE ZODIAC
References in The Secret Doctrine
1. "In Judaism and Christianity, the Messiah is always connected with water, and with baptism. (II. 413.)
a. The second racial initiation.
b. The first planetary initiation."
2. Pisces ... "shines as a symbol of the past, present and future spiritual Saviours." (I. 717.)
3. "Kepler states as a positive fact that at the moment of the Incarnation (of Christ) all the planets were in conjunction in the sign Pisces ... the constellation of the Messiah." (I. 717.)
4. On the porticos of buildings sacred to votive offerings to the dead, in the Buddhist religion, are ornaments of a "cross formed of two Fishes." (III. 151.)