The Sabian Symbols - Scorpio 1-15

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SCENE FIFTEEN: COMMUNION

Dane Rudhyar

(Scorpio 1° to Scorpio 15°)

FIRST LEVEL: ACTIONAL

PHASE 211 (SCORPIO 1°): A CROWDED SIGHTSEEING BUS ON A CITY STREET.

KEYNOTE: The fundamental human eagerness to expand one's social horizon and to experience the results of collective achievements and new ways of life.

In this symbol we are dealing with a group-experience of a vast collective achievement, a city. Individuals coming from a variety of places and backgrounds "commune" in new awareness of a greater whole of human existence, an organized whole with its own rhythms of multifarious activity. New feelings and an expansion of consciousness result. What begins in the Libra phase of the cycle is given substantiation during the Scorpio phase. The process of "initiation" into collective values is now reaching the feeling nature.

This symbol begins the forty-third five-fold sequence. It refers to the first realization of what a larger whole of existence — a more encompassing frame of reference — implies, in very concrete and perhaps startling terms. What is at stake is A WIDENING OF EXPERIENCE.

PHASE 212 (SCORPIO 2°): A DELICATE BOTTLE OF PERFUME LIES BROKEN, RELEASING ITS FRAGRANCE.

KEYNOTE: The accidental nature of opportunities that impel one to break away from a past, the remembrance of which is still poignant and cherished.

A new and greater realization usually demands the sacrifice of something which has brought loveliness and fragrance to a lesser form of living and feeling. Old feelings are poignantly remembered, even as one moves into a new and wider sphere of experience. Old relationships may be left behind, but the memory of their essential moments lingers on, perhaps strong and nostalgic.

This is the second stage of the forty-third sequence. It contrasts with the first in that it reveals the difficulty of dealing with the past as one enters into a new realm of feelings. To the excitement of novelty answers the memory of the graciousness of the past one has SURRENDERED.

PHASE 213 (SCORPIO 3°): A HOUSE-RAISING PARTY IN A SMALL VILLAGE ENLISTS THE NEIGHBORS' COOPERATION.

KEYNOTE: The feeling of community demonstrated in a basic joint effort.

In rural neighborhoods, especially as the American West was being developed, the building of at least the framework of a house was often a collective, friendly enterprise. Newcomers building their home-to-be found friendly helpers in their neighbors. The sense of togetherness and participation in a common enterprise was developed by such collective work. The home remains "our" home, yet the whole community is involved in its erection and the welcome marking its completion.

At this third stage of the five-fold sequence, feeling becomes activity. The past and its memories are repolarized in terms of the expanded social consciousness. From that activity a new sense of reality will derive. The Keyword is COOPERATION.

PHASE 214 (SCORPIO 4°): A YOUTH CARRIES A LIGHTED CANDLE IN A DEVOTIONAL RITUAL.

KEYNOTE: The educative power of ceremonies which impress the great images of a culture upon its gathered participants.

A community of human beings is ensouled by a few basic symbols which structure and illustrate the group's particular culture and way of life. Rituals and social ceremonies of all types (from a baseball game to a ticker-tape parade for returning heroes, or a religious service in an old cathedral) incorporate these symbols in traditional forms of activity. As they participate in these collective presentations of commonly accepted values and ideals, the minds and feelings of young people are formed by these symbols. They take the values for granted until the day when they choose to assert their individuality — or their participation in a generation's revolt — by scorning the traditional rituals, including as well business rituals. Then they may poignantly search for new ones to participate in!

This fourth stage symbol pictures for us the method by which a community of feelings is built during the formative years of childhood and adolescence. The zodiacal sign Scorpio is especially related to rituals including the sex rituals which unite the communicants at the roots of their beings. In these sex rituals too, THE POWER OF SYMBOLS is evident, above and beyond the mere biological act.

PHASE 215 (SCORPIO 5°): A MASSIVE ROCKY SHORE RESISTS THE POUNDING OF THE SEA.

KEYNOTE: The inertia of all institutionalized procedures.

Slow is the rise of the land from the vast ocean, but once it is formed it develops a formidable resistance to change in spite of storms. Likewise, once a culture has expressed its basic symbols and its particular way of thinking, feeling and acting in concrete institutions, these change very slowly indeed. The individual who came to the great city (Scorpio i° symbol) soon finds his life set by the rhythms of city living, which obliterate vaster life processes and the moving tides of evolution.

This is the last of the five symbols of the forty-third sequence. We see in it how binding and resistant a communal way of life can become. In this there is strength and stability, and these are necessary factors in the social life of man — until new horizons beckon. The Keyword is STABILITY.

SECOND LEVEL: EMOTIONAL/CULTURAL

PHASE 216 (SCORPIO 6°): THE GOLD RUSH TEARS MEN AWAY FROM THEIR NATIVE SOIL.

KEYNOTE: The passionate search for new values which, at any level, promise a more abundant life.

The greatness of man is that he can always be greater; likewise, at a national level, man's "greed" can more easily be aroused by whatever promises more wealth, more power, and ever-greater achievements at all levels, spiritual as well as material. Beyond this arousal of greed is the deep-seated desire to play a more important or spectacular role in one's society or community. Greed is the perverse intensification of the social sense, just as lust is the perverse intensification of the longing for love. Always at this Scorpio level the yearning is for an ever more intense and all-absorbing union with a person or a community — a yearning which motivates a search for more effectual means to achieve as total a feeling experience as is possible.

This is the first stage of the forty-fourth sequence of symbolic phases in the cycle of existence. It dramatizes the capacity in man to tear himself away from the known and the familiar, gambling everything on a vision or dream. A Keyword could be AVIDITY.

PHASE 217 (SCORPIO 7°): DEEP-SEA DIVERS.

KEYNOTE: The will to explore the hidden depths of all experiences and to search for primordial causes.

This symbol essentially refers to depth psychology — a coming to terms with the collective Unconscious and its contents. This type of depth-plumbing adventure is basically different from the one symbolized by the gold rush, for it can take place within the individual and with no relation to social value. It refers symbolically to a quest for "under-standing" — i.e. for what lies under the surface waves of daily living. This quest may lead to great dangers. It demands a strong will and good breathing — i.e. a degree of spiritual strength. It usually challenges powers hidden in the depths of the unconscious.

The contrast between "deep-sea divers" and "men of the gold rush" is significant. It presents in an interesting manner the opposition between a first stage and second stage symbol in the five-fold sequence of cyclic phases. The inward quest opposes the outward search for the great social symbol, gold. It should lead to a DEPTH REALIZATION of the very roots of consciousness.

PHASE 218 (SCORPIO 8°): A CALM LAKE BATHED IN MOONLIGHT.

KEYNOTE: A quiet openness to higher inspiration.

One could stress the romantic suggestions such an image evokes, but even at the level of a love relationship what is implied is a surrender of two personal egos to the inspiration of transcendent feelings which are essentially impersonal. Love expresses itself through the lovers, for real Love is a cosmic undifferentiated principle or power which simply focuses itself within the "souls" of human beings who reflect its light. The same is true of the mystic's love for God. Man strives hard to achieve great things through daring adventures, but a moment comes when all that really matters is to present a calm mind upon which a supernal light may be reflected.

This is the third stage of the forty-fourth five-fold sequence. It tells us that beyond all efforts lays the need for peace and the readiness to accept the illumination from above. The Keyword is QUIESCENCE.

PHASE 219 (SCORPIO 9°): A DENTIST AT WORK.

KEYNOTE: Overcoming the negative results of social practices and ego-cravings.

In order to properly evaluate and interpret this symbol, we should realize the meaning of the teeth. Permanent teeth appear normally at age 7, when, according to some occultists, the personalized individuality of the child — the ego — takes full control of the physical organism. The teeth are used to tear down foodstuffs so they can be digested and assimilated. Social living and cultural patterns impose upon us certain habits of eating, arouse desires for unwholesome or denatured food, force us perhaps to eat in tense circumstances and hurriedly. This results in tooth decay far more frequently than should be inevitable through aging. The symbol therefore shows us how society and civilization, which may indirectly cause tooth decay, then have to invent means to skillfully repair the damage.

At this fourth stage of the five-fold sequence we see once more a hint of technique. Life in society both perverts, and repairs, destroys and rebuilds — truly a vicious cycle. Man is compelled by social needs to display INVENTIVENESS.

PHASE 220 (SCORPIO 10°): A FELLOWSHIP SUPPER REUNITES OLD COMRADES.

KEYNOTE: The overtones of human relationships based on a community of work or experiences.

This symbol pictures the essential nature of the bond that unites individuals who have participated in some common activity. The social feeling of communion, plus all that it engenders, arises after the act performed together. Activity is at the root of consciousness. Activity in common generates social consciousness and cultural patterns which become set in the form of institutions. A group-personality emerges, which displays characteristic features and gives birth to collective emotions and values.

This is the final stage of the forty-fourth five-fold sequence. Wherever the symbol appears, it suggests the importance of establishing or strengthening links with those with whom one has shared, or can share, living experiences. The value of COMRADESHIP is emphasized.

THIRD LEVEL: INDIVIDUAL/MENTAL

PHASE 221 (SCORPIO 11°): A DROWNING MAN IS BEING RESCUED.

KEYNOTE: The deep concern of the social group for the safety of individuals.

This symbol should be interpreted as revealing the basic feeling of relationship between the individual and his fellow-men. What is pictured is the expression of this 'relationship rather than the experience of the person who, carelessly perhaps, ventured too far beyond his depth and then was given a "second chance" to live. A man risks his life to save another: this is love, based on a sense of responsibility produced by a vivid sense of interrelatedness. Sustained by this love, the individual may be more secure in venturing forth; but this assurance can also lead to unwarranted daring and trust.

This is the first stage of the forty-fifth sequence of five symbolic phases. It pictures the concern of the social whole for any one of its parts, even if this concern is merely the spontaneous act of rescue performed by a chance bystander. The HUMANITARIANISM thus displayed has deep cultural roots.

PHASE 222 (SCORPIO 12°): AN OFFICIAL EMBASSY BALL.

KEYNOTE: Group-consciousness, as it flowers at the highest level in cultural interchanges between representatives of the elite of the ruling class.

At present the largest unit of social organization is the nation. The symbol pictures the ruling class of such national wholes displaying at least the superficial forms of a concern for establishing permanent relationships in peaceful cooperation. What is evoked is the value of meeting other people at the highest possible level of cultural interplay (i.e. in "full dress"), rather than with an everyday type of consciousness and behavior.

In contrast to the natural spontaneity of the rescue operation shown in the preceding symbol, we have here the image of a ritualized DISPLAY of power, prestige and wealth. Relationship has been made hierarchical and is institutionalized. Phase 222 tells us that this too is an essential feature in the development of rhythmic give-and-take in order to achieve global peace.

PHASE 223 (SCORPIO 13°): AN INVENTOR PERFORMS A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT.

KEYNOTE: The driving urge toward achievement, which is at the root of civilization.

At whatever level, the development of more complete and efficient forms of social interplay — the essence of the process of civilization — demands ingenuity, inventiveness and the willingness to experiment within relatively secure test conditions. One must try to go to the roots of problems of interpersonal or international relations, as well as to discover the principles controlling the interaction between material particles and larger bodies. Modern technology is only one approach to an immensely complex problem. Intuition is as necessary to success as intellectual analysis.

This is the third stage of the forty-fifth sequence of five symbols. The symbol stresses the value of individual initiative, perseverance and caution in any attempt to understand how everything is related to everything else. What is most needed is the ABILITY TO RELATE SEEMINGLY UNRELATED FACTS.

PHASE 224 (SCORPIO 14°): TELEPHONE LINEMEN AT WORK INSTALLING NEW CONNECTIONS.

KEYNOTE: The need to establish new channels of communication.

The growth of community feeling among separated human beings requires the development of constantly more complex means of interchanging feelings and ideas. Wherever this symbol for Scorpio 14° is found, the indication is that such channels of communication are essential for the success of any interpersonal relationship. They are not only to be built, but to be used significantly and wisely.

This fourth stage symbol brings to our attention the essential value of communicating with our fellow men and even our close associates — with whom such a communication may not always be easy. There can be no communion without communication at some level, including the level of biological attunement. Keyword: THE WILL TO ASSOCIATION or COMPREHENSION.

PHASE 225 (SCORPIO 15°): CHILDREN PLAYING AROUND FIVE MOUNDS OF SAND.

KEYNOTE: Early steps in the development of a mind seeking to be attuned to the higher level of human evolution.

This is a particularly cryptic symbol. It may be deciphered if one realizes that Man's essential destiny is to develop as a five-fold being, a "Pentagram" or five-pointed star. Number 5 symbolizes mind in its most creative and penetrating aspect, while number 4 refers to the life processes operating at present within the earth's biosphere. Our Western civilization has realized only the lower level of this vibration 5; i.e. mind contaminated by compulsive instincts and emotional involvement. Some individuals, however, are born with a special potential for development of the higher, creative mind, and in social circumstances favoring this development. In most cases, they are still "playing around" with their unusual capacity. They are in the kindergarten stage of this higher mind development.

In this final stage of the forty-fifth sequence of five symbols the transcendent possibilities of mental evolution, which require interpersonal communion in consciousness, are evoked. The free spirit of true scientific inquiry is only a foreshadowing of such a type of mind, which demands dedication to mankind as a whole. What is seen here is FUTURE-ORIENTED GROWTH.

An Astrological Mandala