The Sabian Symbols - Aquarius 16-30

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SCENE TWENTY-TWO: MANAGEMENT

Dane Rudhyar

(Aquarius 16° to Aquarius 30°)

FIRST LEVEL: ACTIONAL

PHASE 316 (AQUARIUS 16°): A BIG BUSINESSMAN AT HIS DESK.

KEYNOTE: The ability to organize the many aspects of an enterprise involving a large group of human beings.

A great deal of what is glowingly written about the Aquarian Age is probably sheer glamour. The New Age should be one in which man learns to use the power generated by human togetherness and group interplay — that is, to use it harmoniously for the welfare of the whole of which all individuals are parts, humanity and the planet Earth. This has never been achieved and only very rarely attempted. Mankind today must make a thorough and irresistible attempt, or be nearly destroyed — except for a creative "remnant" of seed-persons who would have to begin again from new foundations. In the field of big business, of huge war undertakings (like the Normandy landing in World War II) or of major national efforts (like the Moon landings) great results have been achieved, but the motive and the quality of the human interrelationships involved were neither of permanent significance nor invested with a truly harmonic quality. The character of the techniques used were totally un-satisfactory from a "human" point of view. Nevertheless there is much to learn from modern large-scale management and systems analysis, even in terms of personal endeavors of very limited scope.

This is the first stage in the sixty-fourth five-fold subcycle. It introduces the concept of management which is basic at this period of the cyclic life process which the zodiac symbolizes, yet which needs to be totally reevaluated if mankind is to actualize the spiritual potentialities implied in the evolutionary transformation just ahead. ORGANATION should be the Keyword, rather than mere "organization"; for humanity now can and should realize that it is indeed an "organism."

PHASE 317 (AQUARIUS 17°): A WATCHDOG STANDS GUARD, PROTECTING HIS MASTER AND HIS POSSESSIONS.

KEYNOTE: The development of the capacity to protect one-self and to safeguard one's individual rights under complex social pressures.

What seems to be implied in this symbol, considering its position in the entire cycle, is that under present-day social conditions the individual person needs protection against the ever-growing encroachments of society upon his theoretically recognized right to lead a private life free from public interference. Seen in this light the symbol stands in contrast to the preceding one depicting the power of big business and the totalitarian implications of large-scale organization. At a deeper occult level of interpretation it also reveals the need to protect oneself against "astral" intrusions and perhaps "black magic," the more so as one ventures into supernormal states of consciousness. It is said that the Adept trains certain subhuman entities ("Elementals") to protect him. The Christian religion speaks of Guardian Angels in a related sense.

At this second stage we see the individual able to master natural energies which he enlists in his service, so he may pursue his individualized work of destiny in security. This is another aspect of the relationship of individual-to-society. Individuals of course do also seek to rob or injure other persons, but the state of affairs resulting from a society glorifying competition, ambition and success at any cost is largely responsible for individual violence. The more creative the person, the greater his or her NEED FOR PROTECTION.

PHASE 318 (AQUARIUS 18°): A MAN'S SECRET MOTIVES ARE BEING PUBLICLY UNMASKED.

KEYNOTE: The difficulty for the modern individual to keep secret his private past or his deeper motives.

This symbol logically follows the two preceding ones. Today, struggle between the power of society and the rights of the individual leads in the end to the defeat of the latter. The media and innumerable governmental agencies are nearly always able to find access to remains or records of past actions; modern psychologists and psychiatrists are increasingly adept at penetrating the deepest secrets of a life through "analysis" and all kinds of more or less allowed techniques involving drugs and the subconscious reactions of muscles and nerves. The individual whose activities have to remain unrecognized is engaged in a constant struggle; he needs the help of higher Powers as well as of the protective agencies he may have placed at his service.

This is the third stage in the sixty-fourth five-fold sequence of archetypal images of the cyclic process. It refers to the UNMASKING of hidden motives and personal secrets. It may refer to the publicizing of past behavior.

PHASE 319 (AQUARIUS 19°): A FOREST FIRE IS BEING SUBDUED BY THE USE OF WATER, CHEMICALS AND SHEER MUSCULAR ENERGY.

KEYNOTE: The skill and courage necessary to bring under control the destructive potential of carelessness of karmic "visitations."

Forest fires may be caused by human carelessness, by lightning or by the by-products of modern technology. Every individual — at least once in his lifetime, if not repeatedly — may perhaps have to face spectacular reactions to seemingly insignificant acts. These are to be considered means to test his strength, ingenuity or emotional stability. Every faculty at his disposal must be made use of — emotional, mental, physical. He needs faith in himself and in superior Powers.

At this fourth stage of the five-fold series we are shown man in action in a crucial and potentially devastating situation. There is need for a total mobilization of energy and a deep sense of INDOMITABILITY.

PHASE 320: (AQUARIUS 20°): A LARGE WHITE DOVE BEARING A MESSAGE.

KEYNOTE: The answer of spiritual agencies to thorough, sustained and victorious individual efforts.

This concludes most significantly this series of five symbols. The individual who has gone courageously and with indomitable spirit through his crucial crisis receives, as it were, a deep spiritual blessing from the Soul-realm: "Mission accomplished. Peace be with you." And in this blessing a secret prophecy of what is yet to come may be seen by the perspicacious and spiritually sensitive mind of the recipient. Every real spiritual step a man takes in his development is the result of a victory over forces of inertia or destruction. The Divine is totally "present" in the heart of all true victories.

This is the fifth and last symbol of the sixty-fourth series. What the "message" is depends on the particular situation, but the white dove always signifies peace; at the very heart of this peace is the CERTIFICATION of individual worth and victory.

SECOND LEVEL: EMOTIONAL/CULTURAL

PHASE 321 (AQUARIUS 21°): A DISAPPOINTED AND DISILLUSIONED WOMAN COURAGEOUSLY FACES A SEEMINGLY EMPTY LIFE.

KEYNOTE: The capacity to meet emotionally upsetting experiences in human relationships with strength of character and personal integrity.

The man who manages vast and complex business enterprises most often reaches power and achieves success because of his ability to deal with crises and temporary reverses of fortune. At the emotional level we now see a "woman" confronted with sharp disappointment and forced to face the vanishing of cherished illusions, presumably in terms of a close personal relationship. She has to learn to manage such crises, which are really tests of inner strength and perhaps compassion. We all have within ourselves the power to learn through emotional crises. But like any other faculty it needs development.

This is the first symbol in the sixty-fifth five-fold sequence. It urges us to develop RESILIENCE under adversity.

PHASE 322 (AQUARIUS 22°): A RUG IS PLACED ON THE FLOOR OF A NURSERY TO ALLOW CHILDREN TO PLAY IN COMFORT AND WARMTH.

KEYNOTE: The warmth of understanding which comes to those who, early in life, are open to new possibilities.

Man is never left without assistance when eagerly seeking to grow emotionally and spiritually. Even if he does not consciously realize the intent and value of what sustains his self-development and cushions the shocks which life provides his growth in understanding, still the assistance is there. He may think: No one understands me. But the understanding is there if he does not egotistically take for granted that life and society owe him everything.

This second stage symbol contrasts the kindness inherent in so many of life's situations with the tragic feeling of disillusionment represented by the first stage symbol. Through a warm APPRECIATION of basic opportunities and even small comforts, we can safely and happily grow into personal maturity.

PHASE 323 (AQUARIUS 23°): A BIG BEAR SITTING DOWN AND WAVING ALL ITS PAWS.

KEYNOTE: The self-discipline which results from an intelligent development of individual faculties under proper training.

What constitutes the proper training of children or animals is a complex and much-disputed problem. The symbol seems to state simply that powerful life energies can be trained adequately — the implication or extension of the idea being that no training is really successful unless it leads to the realization of the value and power of self-discipline. We are constantly faced with situations which, whether we are aware of it or not, are in fact training situations; God or the Soul is the trainer. Much depends on the attitudes we assume in these situations.

This is the third symbol in the sixty-fifth sequence. We see in it the outcome of what is suggested in the two preceding ones. Character and a warm "under-standing" of what is involved in the process of growth and overcoming of emotional heaviness can be taught. We can learn to discipline our natural impulses and to use them for a more-than-personal purpose. This is DISCIPLESHIP in the true sense of the term.

PHASE 324 (AQUARIUS 24°): A MAN, HAVING OVERCOME HIS PASSIONS, TEACHES DEEP WISDOM IN TERMS OF HIS EXPERIENCE.

KEYNOTE: The constructive use to which difficult past experiences can be put as examples for those who are still striving to overcome their passions.

Every type of experience can be made to serve a spiritual purpose. Every man or woman, however humble his or her status, can be an example to younger people who are still struggling to overcome or control the compulsive drives of their emotional-biological natures. Whoever has managed a difficult performance contributes to the collective wisdom of his community and of mankind. Every achievement is to be passed on to those who may be inspired by it to greater and more adequate efforts.

At this fourth stage of the sixty-fourth subcycle we are given a never-to-be-forgotten hint: it is the responsibility of anyone who has taken one step ahead in his evolution to help others to take that step. This is true education. The Keyword is COMMUNICABILITY.

PHASE 325 (AQUARIUS 25°): A BUTTERFLY WITH THE RIGHT WING MORE PERFECTLY FORMED.

KEYNOTE: The capacity to develop the rational and fully conscious aspect of the mind ahead of normal evolution.

What seems implied is a kind of mutation, and more specifically the special development of whatever is symbolized by the "right side" of the organism. Here, however, the spiritual body (the butterfly) is what the Image represents. A strong process of conscious individualization is suggested, perhaps at the expense of the instinctual-emotional aspect of the personality (its "left side").

This last symbol fittingly concludes this sixty-fifth sequence, which began with "A disappointed woman . . ." The five-fold set deals with the management of human energies at the emotional level; here management means overcoming — this, on the basis of negative or ego-challenging experiences. This fifth symbol refers thus to the results of a TRANSMUTATION OF EMOTIONAL ENERGIES.

THIRD LEVEL: INDIVIDUAL/MENTAL

PHASE 326 (AQUARIUS 26°): A GARAGE MAN TESTING A CAR'S BATTERY WITH A HYDROMETER.

KEYNOTE: Skill in applying knowledge of natural laws to the solution of everyday problems resulting from life in our technological society.

Here we see a man using his analytical mind to check up on the operation of the machines his inventive genius produced. This simple commonplace operation is used here as an indication of how deeply technology involves us in small matters, yet matters which in some circumstances could make the difference between life and death — i.e. a mechanical failure in a car on a crowded freeway. The need for "management" therefore is seen to affect every detail of our individual lives; this applies as well to the complexities of interpersonal, social or political relationships, because our modern society is indeed like a huge machine speeding on dangerous ground. Safety depends on available power.

This is the first of five degree symbols in the sixty-sixth sequence. It tells us that we constantly need the use of our intellectual power of observation and analysis to check on the effectiveness of the energies at our disposal. It is a symbol of MENTAL EFFICIENCY.

PHASE 327 (AQUARIUS 27°): AN ANCIENT POTTERY BOWL FILLED WITH FRESH VIOLETS.

KEYNOTE: The importance of traditional skills and artistic values deeply rooted in man's instinctive feelings as frames of reference for man's most authentic emotions.

This symbol contrasts with the preceding one just as personal reticence and a simple love of natural beauty contrast with the rush, gawdiness and intellectual efficiency characterizing so much of our modern existence. Violets have often been considered symbols of modesty and humility — values which were understood to be the mark of true womanhood . . . long ago, it seems!

In this symbol we see pictured the dependence of the purest feelings of natural living upon the traditions within which they find their most adequate and effective setting. It is a symbol of DELICACY OF FEELING.

PHASE 328 (AQUARIUS 28°): A TREE FELLED AND SAWED TO ENSURE A SUPPLY OF WOOD FOR THE WINTER.

KEYNOTE: Knowledge and skill used in its natural surroundings for the satisfaction of vital basic needs.

This symbol combines, as it were, the implications represented in the two preceding ones. It relates to natural living the human capacity to prepare for the future and to use both physical strength and mental ingenuity. In meeting the hardships inherent in an existence close to nature, strength, efficiency and intelligence are needed, but they are incorporated in a life in which every act can be part of a harmonic and beautiful ritual permeated with deep significance.

This is the third in the sixty-sixth five-fold series of symbols. It refers to the efficient use of natural resources for insuring man's well-being. Such a use is based on INTELLIGENT FORESIGHT.

PHASE 329 (AQUARIUS 29°): A BUTTERFLY EMERGING FROM A CHRYSALIS.

KEYNOTE: The capacity to utterly transform the character of one's consciousness by radically altering the structural patterns of everyday living and the types of relationships one enters upon.

This is the second time within a very short span of the cycle that the butterfly symbol appears (cf. Aquarius 25°). Here what is emphasized is the process of metamorphosis itself. It is the fourth symbol of a five-fold sequence and it stresses the essential character of the activity required at this stage of the cycle; i.e. nothing short of a complete renewal of all the implications of being alive as a human individual will do. A radical change is needed. At this stage, this change is individual and mental, and it should be seen against the background of humanity as a whole. What is revealed is the potential ability of every human being to participate in a higher realm of evolution AFTER his or her emergence from a critical state of transition.

At this fourth stage of the sixty-fifth subcycle the Keyword is METAMORPHOSIS. In spiritual terms, this implies "Initiation," i.e. entering a higher realm of conscious existence and there joining a sacred Company.

PHASE 330 (AQUARIUS 30°): DEEPLY BOOTED IN THE PAST OF A VERY ANCIENT CULTURE, A SPIRITUAL BROTHERHOOD IN WHICH MANY INDIVIDUAL MINDS ARE MERGED INTO THE GLOWING LIGHT OF A UNANIMOUS CONSCIOUSNESS IS REVEALED TO ONE WHO HAS EMERGED SUCCESSFULLY FROM HIS METAMORPHOSIS.

KEYNOTE: The ability for the person with an open mind and a deep feeling for self-transcendence to come in contact with higher forms of existence.

The originally recorded Sabian symbol stated: "The field of Ardath in bloom," which referred to a scene in an occult novel by Marie Corelli centering upon ancient Babylon. The reference may well have been a "blind" inasmuch as Marc Jones has stressed his inner contact with a Brotherhood with Babylonian (or "Sabian") roots. A spiritual Brotherhood consitutes a state of "multi-unity" — i.e. a multiplicity of individuals, if one thinks of the paths they trod to reach their final metamorphosis, but a unity of consciousness and "Soul" —thus unanimity ("anima" meaning Soul). In this spiritual Whole each unit is a recognizable "form" or entity if one looks at it with the eyes of personality; but when seen through a unified spiritual vision or from a distance, the Whole appears to be one single area of radiant light. Similarly, when studied by the modern physicist, light can be apprehended either as a stream of identifiable particles (photons) or as one continuous wave. Whether it is seen as one or the other depends on the point of view.

This is the last and culminating symbol of Scene Twenty-two of the cyclic ritual. This is indeed a fitting symbol, as the number 22 symbolizes all forms of mastery. At any level, it is a symbol of spiritual group fulfillment — of CONSCIOUS TOTALITY OF BEING.

An Astrological Mandala