Vox stellarum: part eight — Libra

The Voice of the Stars: the testament of the Zodiac unveiled

Introduction

In part eight of our survey of the hidden message of the stars we turn our attention to the constellation and Zodiacal Sign of Libra. This is the first of the three Signs concerned with Judgement, the other two being Scorpio and Sagittarius. It is in Libra that our cumulative thoughts and deeds are weighed in the Scales of Justice. Which way will the balance swing? The results will be seen in the following Sign of Scorpio. Will it be the Aether-piercing Eagle that triumphs or the stinging scorpion? The final outcome of the judgement will be determined by the Archer — Sagittarius — whose arrow may carry us up to Heaven or down to hell. The Judge, as we explain in our investigation of the ancient Egyptian ceremony of the Weighing of the Heart, is the Divine Soul itself. In short, we are our own judges. At the time of passing over each one of us is compelled to review the life that has just ended. It is not an experience that can be compared to any kind of interview on Earth. There is no possibility of dissembling, prevaricating or obfuscating. Least of all is it possible to lie before the all-seeing eye of the Soul. As Howard Storm discovered in his NDE, our Soul knows us better than we can ever know ourselves.

In our accompanying Afterword we explore the symbolism of the extra-zodiacal constellations of Ara the Altar, Corona Borealis and Lupus. All three have something important to say about Judgement which marks the Third Division of the Zodiac. Our principal aim, however, remains to reconcile Astrology with its lost sibling — Astronomy, so that we might restore something of the Wisdom they embodied when they were one, unified Science. If you have not read the previous parts of this investigation or our afterwords to them, please do so before continuing, or you will not obtain a complete understanding of the many subjects under discussion. Before we take up the study of Libra we would like to say something about Har-Makhu, the ancient Egyptian god of the two horizons, a most important figuration in the Testimony of the Zodiac and a major key to the occult meaning of Libra.

Anon. — Har-Makhu, the god of the double horizon — composite illustration. 1983.

Proem: Har–Makhu or Harmachis

I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. Revelation 12:16

In the Egyptian religion Har-Makhu was the god of the double horizon or equinoctial balance, level or plain — represented by the Scales of Libra. The spring and autumn equinox are the only times in the year when the whole world experiences twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness. Before we explore the occult meaning of the double horizon we would like to say something about the astronomical phenomenon known as precession. If you have followed our investigation from the beginning, you will recall that precession describes the gradual shift in the orientation of the Earth's axis of rotation in a recurring cycle of approximately 25,920 years. It is this phenomenon which has given rise to the two Zodiacs currently in use: the Tropical, used mainly by Western astrologers, and the Sidereal, used mainly by Eastern (especially Hindu) astrologers. There is an added complication, for, as we explained in part one, the Zodiacal Signs no longer correspond with the Constellations upon which they are based. This requires some further explanation which the astrologers among our readers are welcome to skip.

When viewed from the Earth, the Sun, Moon and planets appear to regularly travel a very specific path in the sky known as the ecliptic. Because the planets never deviate far from this path, they repeatedly traverse certain constellations along it. It is this fact which led ancient astrologers to formulate a 'map' of the Heavens that included every constellation intersected by the ecliptic but not those lying outside it. The constellations which lie upon or close to the ecliptic are 13 in number. They include the twelve Zodiacal constellations from Aries to Pisces plus a thirteenth constellation. This is Ophiuchus or the Serpent Bearer which lies between the constellations Scorpio and Sagittarius. This map represents what you would actually see if you observed the night sky during the course of a single year. The extra-zodiacal constellations we have been discussing in our afterwords are those which lie outside the ecliptic. But that does not mean they play no part in the message of the stars. On the contrary, as we explained in our Afterword to part six, their study is essential to an understanding of the Tapestry of the Zodiac. The map of the Heavens consisting of twelve constellations constitutes the Sidereal or moving Zodiac. Moving because the precession of the equinoxes causes it to move one degree every 72 years in relation to the Tropical or fixed Zodiac. We call the Tropical Zodiac fixed because it is based on the alignment of the vernal equinox with the beginning of the constellation of Aries. This was the case some 2,000 years ago, but is so no longer. The vernal equinox now coincides with the beginning of the constellation of Pisces. In another 570 years or so the vernal equinox will coincide with the constellation of Aquarius. After another 25,920 years, the whole cycle will repeat itself. The illustration reproduced below may make the distinction between the two Zodiacs clearer.

You may ask which Zodiac is better from an astrological perspective? Or rather, which gives more accurate results. The short answer is both and neither. A longer answer is outside the purview of this investigation which, you will recall from our introduction to part one, "is not a treatise on Astronomy or Astrology." Readers who are interested in learning more about the pros and cons of the Sidereal and Tropical Zodiacs will find no shortage of books, articles, and websites devoted to this subject. You may also ask why, if Ophiuchus is intersected by the ecliptic as shown in the above illustration, it was excluded from both the Sidereal and Tropical Zodiacs? This is an excellent question which we will address in the Afterword to the next part of our investigation.

To sum up: the Sidereal Zodiac standardised the primitive map of the Heavens to include 10 (now 12) Signs that are roughly aligned with the constellations they are named after. Each Sign is allocated an equal number of degrees, 36 in the Zodiac of 10 Signs and 30 in the Zodiac of 12 Signs. The Tropical Zodiac is a further development of this system in which the Signs are aligned with the seasons and no longer coincide with the constellations. It is mainly for this reason that we have drawn a firm distinction between the Constellations and the Zodiacal Signs throughout this investigation. It is precession that determines the point or place within the circle of the Zodiac which coincides with the vernal equinox. And it is at the vernal equinox that the Manes (Higher Minds) of the deceased were resurrected for the afterlife in Amenta in the Egyptian mythos. The coincidence of the vernal equinox with Aries was faithfully reproduced in the drama of the Egyptian Resurrection by Horus the Younger entering into the Mount of Glory as a ram, emblematic of the little Sun. As we explained in our Afterword to part five (Cancer), the 'Mount of Glory' was the Egyptian name for the Higher Realms of Light — figured astronomically as the circumpolar paradise. This was the dwelling place of the Glorious Ones who had liberated themselves from further servitude on Earth and now enjoyed freedom in the bosom of Ra. Roughly 2,160 years earlier when the vernal equinox coincided with Taurus, Horus entered the Mount as a calf or bull. Two thousand odd years before that, Horus entered the Mount as the Twin-Gods Horus and Set, in conformity with the constellation of the Twins which we discussed in part four. This explains the different figurations Horus assumes in the Book of the Dead, each one emblematical of a different point in the cycle of precession. Those readers unfamiliar with astrology or astronomy will now see the wisdom of this digression, without which what follows may have made little sense to them.

As we said earlier, the god who presided over the Scales of Libra was Har-Makhu, meaning 'Horus of the two horizons'. This name has been variously transliterated as Heru-Khuti, Harmachis (Budge), Harmakhet, and Horemakhet. Har-Makhu (also used by Gerald Massey) is the closest transliteration to the hieroglyphs of the god's name and this is the principal reason we have used it in preference to any alternative transliteration. In A Book of Beginnings Gerald Massey explains that Har-Makhu was "the god of the sphinx who was far earlier than Ra in the development of the Egyptian Theogony. At the spring equinox he triumphed over his adversary, Set. At the autumn equinox, the balance tipped in favour of Set who vanquished Horus in the eternal war of Light against darkness. Har-Makhu entered the underworld to conduct the congregated souls and deliver those that were in purgatory." Here we have a concealed reference to those glorious Immortals who, as Howard Storm learned in his NDE, come to the aid of the benighted mortals trapped in the hellish conditions of the lower astral planes. It was these Divine Guides whom the Egyptian Sages allegorised under the name of the god Har-Makhu. Massey continues: "In the mythos Har-Makhu was the solar god of both horizons, or the double equinox, who represented the Sun of to-day that rose up from the nether world as conqueror of darkness to join the west and east together on the Mount of Glory. The type was continued in the eschatology, when Har-Makhu became the Horus of the greater mysteries, Horus of the religious legend who suffered, died, and was buried in Amenta, and who rose again from the dead like the winter Sun, as Horus in spirit...This was he who made the pathway, not merely betwixt the two horizons, but to eternal life, as son of Ra, the holy spirit in the eschatology." Readers unfamiliar with the terms 'mythos' and 'eschatology' will find an explanation of their meaning in part seven of this investigation.

Whatsoever the point in precession, the horizon of the resurrection coincided with the vernal equinox. Horus the child entered the Mount of Glory at the beautiful Gate of Entrance in the West and rose again as the adult Horus, that went forth at the beautiful Gate of Exit in the East. The mystery of the Double Horizon was also a riddle of the Sphinx. On the stele of Tehutimes IV (Greek 'Thothmes', 'Thutmose' etc) it is called the Sphinx of Khepera whom we discussed in our Proem to part five of this investigation. Khepera was not only a solar god of the double horizon in the mythos, but the ONE God living in Truth in the eschatology, the only Power that was worshipped as eternal by the Egyptians. This is 'the greatest of Spirits' mentioned in the Book of the Dead which is represented by the Sphinx of Khepera. Before Amenta was established as 'the earth of eternity' (the lower Egyptian Heaven), in the Egyptian religion, a sort of hollow underworld had preceded it in the ancient scheme of belief. This was figured as the valley of Akar, over which the Sphinx presided. Budge tells us that an ancient Egyptian name for the Sphinx is Akar; the same as that of the underworld. The deceased in the Book of the Dead in the character of the newly-risen solar god, exclaims: "I am the offspring of yesterday. The tunnels of the earth have given me birth, and I am revealed at my appointed time in the coming forth by day." This is the tunnel or passage through Akar, or the body of the Sphinx, which was built for the god Har-Makhu. But this is a symbolical passage — mark this well — not a literal one, connecting the two horizons of West and East in the mythos.

The deceased just mentioned is in Akar. That is, in the lower astral realms in occult parlance, either awaiting rebirth on Earth or resurrection in a higher realm. The tunnel through the Mount of the Sphinx is described in the Book of the Dead as oblong. It is curious that the oldest known Pyramid in Egypt, that of Meidum, is neither conical nor quadrangular, but oblong. The British Egyptologist Renouf (1822-1897) tells us that in order to understand the nature of Akar, we need to imagine a tunnel starting from the spot where the Sun sets, and extending through the earth as far as where the Sun rises. A human-headed lion crouches at the entrance and also at the exit. It is through the paws of this double sphinx that the boat of the Sun–god enters on the western horizon and comes out on the eastern mount. These two portals at opposite ends of the horizon were called the gates of Akar. It was in this allegorical way that the occult meaning of the double horizon was imaged in the figure of the double Sphinx presided over by the god Har-Makhu. The same methods were employed by the ancient Egyptian sages to conceal the mysteries of birth and death, of light and darkness, of the evolution and fate of men, and lastly of an ever-living soul. As Massey tells us in Ancient Egypt: "An ideal of justice, truth, and righteousness, imaged by the scales, was postulated as established and central in the heavens as the reign of law, and there was an annual attempt to make that justice visible and veritable on earth." So persistent was this mystery that it even found its way into the New Testament.

The Egyptian allegory of ascending the Mount of Glory as a symbolical representation of the resurrection of the dead in the mythos was faithfully reproduced in the Gospels. When Jesus rises after death to teach the twelve Apostles who are gathered together on the Mount of Olives he is reprising the role of Horus in the Egyptian mythos. In the process of transmogrifying allegorised spiritual truths into actual earthly events, the compilers of the Gospels rendered two separate and contradictory accounts of the sermon on the mount. According to Matthew, Jesus delivered his oration upon the mount, but according to Luke "he came down with them, and stood in the plain..." (Luke 6:17). These two horizons of the double earth have been a source of endless perplexity to Biblical scholars. They reappear in the Gospels as those of the two opposite countries, Judea and Galilee. Both have been used independently with the result that one writer localises the works of Jesus in the one region, whilst another places them in the opposite region. It is almost as if they were unsure which leg to stand on, or on which horizon to take their stand as Massey puts it! Har-Makhu passes from one horizon to the other by making his passage through the mount in the Sektet boat which he enters with the seven glorious ones at sunset. Jesus likewise teaches his disciples in the boat as we may read in Luke 5:3. The nearest the Gospels come to this event is when Jesus "departed again into a mountain himself alone" (John 6:15). His disciples, on the other hand, go by water. "And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark..." (John 6:16-17). The scribe hardly dared to send them through the mountain by the boat of the Egyptian Mysteries, therefore Jesus comes to them by walking on the water, "...and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went" (John 6:21). All this and more — which regrettably we do not have the time or space to explore and elucidate — is concealed in plain sight in the grand emblem of the Great Sphinx of Giza, which remains as much of a 'riddle' to contemporary scholarship as it was to the compilers of the Bible. Let us give the last word of our Proem to Gerald Massey who wrote: "Har-Makhu came as the great judge, accompanied by the seven great spirits who were his executors, called 'the seven arms of the balance'. The balance was erected as a figure of the equinoctial level, for the weighing of hearts and of words. The unjust were punished, wrongs were righted, restitution was enforced." It is in the constellation and Zodiacal Sign of Libra that the judgement of Har-Makhu is executed, as we shall now see.

Libra, the Scales: The Judge

Libra is the First Sign of the Third Division of the Zodiac — that of Judgement. We said in the first part of this investigation that "It is a strange fact that Libra is the only one of the Twelve Signs that is not an original Constellation. It is also the only one that does not represent a living creature." Yet nothing symbolises Judgement better than a pair of scales. In part one we also said that the claws of the Scorpion were at one time extended over the space now filled by Libra, so as to form a distinct Constellation called Chelai, or 'the Claws'. Aratus, whose perceptive verses from his poem Phaenomena we have quoted before in this investigation, had this to say concerning the missing constellation of the Chelai or Claws:

"Above on zodiac line the Claws extend.
In his right hand some beast he seems to bear —
They say, an offering for the Altar near."

Later, in the same poem, he adds:

"Beneath the coils search for the mighty claws;
But they are scant of light and nothing fair."

"Some beast...scant of light and nothing fair" is not such a bad description of the lower mind! Here we seem to go right back to Atlantean star lore when the hidden meaning of Virgo and Scorpio and the Scales that now separate them was still known. We learn from several Greek and Roman sources that Libra originated in Egypt. The early Hebrews also regarded Libra as a Scale-beam, and as such it is depicted on the Dendera planisphere. Interestingly, it is shown surmounted by a circle containing a seated god or goddess holding a child (see part two of our investigation). This proves, as Blavatsky stated in Isis Unveiled that: "When it was found necessary to make them [Higher and lower minds] exoteric, these two secret Signs [Virgo and Scorpio] were added under their present appellations as blinds to conceal the true names which gave the key to the whole secret of creation, and divulged the origin of good and evil."

So what, if anything, was the predecessor of the Scales? We have good reason to think that the place now occupied by Libra was formerly filled by the constellation known as Ara or the Altar. We further believe that the Altar was there in the days of Atlantis, but was subsequently removed, probably at a time when the Sacred Mysteries were in danger of being divulged to the uninitiated. For we must not lose sight of the fact that until Blavatsky revealed it (albeit partially and guardedly), the West knew nothing of the occult doctrine of the two minds, or Higher and lower manas as she termed them. Indeed, it was largely unknown in the East too, and is not mentioned in any of the extant texts of Buddhism, except so obliquely as to be undetectable to all but the initiated. Ptolemy, for instance, describes the stars which now form Libra, as forming what he calls 'The Constellation of the Claws'. The biblical scholar and Anglican clergyman E. W. Bullinger (1837-1913) wrote that: "There is, however, some reason to suppose that Libra is a very ancient Egyptian corruption, bringing in human merit instead of Divine righteousness." Wedded as he was to the dogmas of the Church, it is not surprising that Bullinger should regard the Egyptian concept of personal responsibility for our actions (or 'human merit' as he euphemistically calls it), symbolised by the scales of Libra as a 'corruption'. On the other hand he says that the most ancient form of Libra was a "circular altar," adding that "it will be at once seen that we have the original of the disc now preserved in the two circular scales which form the Sign of Libra." We can see this altar in the illustration below. This is taken from a Euphratean boundary stone thought to be over 3,000 years old. This shows the two Signs of the Altar and Scorpio combined, for the Scorpion is stretching out its claws in order to seize the Lamp or Altar.

In India Libra was regarded as a Balance and is figured as a man bending on one knee and holding a pair of scales. In China this constellation was first represented by a dragon and afterwards by a celestial Balance. This suggests that, as in Egypt, the scales were substituted for a prior figuration to obfuscate the occult meaning of Virgo and Scorpio. The dragon, or serpent (the same thing), as many of our readers will know, has more meanings than almost any other occult emblem. It can and does stand for either the lower or Higher mind. The brightest star in Libra is Beta Librae, commonly known as Beta Zuben el Chamali (the Northern Claw). Together with its neighbour, Zuben el Genubi Janib (the Southern Claw), these two luminaries stand for the Light which the claws of the Scorpion try to clasp. If he is not worthy of it, the Light will be wrested from the presumptuous Seizer and Stinger. Exactly opposite to the seventh Sign of Libra with its 'Holy Altar' we find the first Sign of Aries, also called 'The Altar'. As we saw in part two of our investigation, In the ancient Akkadian Calendar, the month Aries was called Bara-ziggar or the sacrifice of righteousness while the seventh month was called Tul-ku, meaning 'the holy altar'. In Aries the Higher Mind is figuratively sacrificed on the altar of the lower mind and body. In Libra both minds are judged by being weighed upon the altar that anciently separated the Signs Virgo and Scorpio, to receive their reward (or punishment) in the following Sign of the Archer.

Notwithstanding its invention by the Egyptian Sages as a substitute for the antediluvian constellation of the Altar, Libra, as H. P. Blavatsky tells us in Isis Unveiled, "was a beautiful idea...expressing as much as could possibly be done without unveiling the whole and ultimate truth. They intended it to imply that when the course of evolution had taken the worlds to the lowest point of grossness, where the earths and their products were coarsest, and their inhabitants most brutish, the turning-point had been reached — the forces were at an even balance. At the lowest point, the still lingering divine spark of spirit within began to convey the upward impulse. The scales typified that eternal equilibrium which is the necessity of a universe of harmony, of exact justice, of the equilibrium of centripetal and centrifugal forces, darkness and light, spirit and matter." We shall explore the occult Significance of Libra and Ara or the Altar more fully in our Afterword. Meanwhile, it is time to discuss the Zodiacal Sign of Libra and the characteristics of those born under its influence.

As we have explained during this investigation, every Sign has something in common with the nature, place and meaning of the one which is opposite to it in the circle of the Zodiac. In each case the latter shows forth the blossoming of that which began in the former. We shall explore this concept more fully in the final part of our Survey of the Stars. In part two we said that the stereotypical characteristic of Aries is "Me first." In Libra this becomes interest in others. Or rather one very special 'other' who must be captured to ensure the harmony which is essential to every Libran. Margaret Hone in The Modern Text Book of Astrology sums up the essential characteristics of this Sign as follows: "The Libran is unhappy and nervous if in ugly or dirty or inadequate or uncongenial surroundings. He is usually tactful in his dealings with others and likes to bring people together for some desirable end. He is usually intelligent and says, I think rather than I feel. He has been called 'Lazy Libra'. Another phrase which has stuck is 'Lazy Libra loathes a duster', but this Cardinal Sign is not really lazy, being far too interested in getting what it wants, especially if this can be through 'the other' or with a partner." This short but accurate summary is typical of Margaret Hone's no-nonsense approach to practical Astrology. She adds that Librans have a tendency to "sit on the fence." She couples this with a fatal predilection for "seeing both sides" of any position, situation or question that often leads to indecisiveness and vacillation. The astrologers among our readers will not be surprised to learn that former British Prime Minister David Cameron is a Libran. In fact, he is a double Libran as his Ascendant is also in the Sign of the Scales. The Sun is in his First House together with Venus, the ruler of Libra. This not only accounts for his oleaginous charm and slippery self-interest but also a political career reared on indolence, indecision and vacillation!

The ruler of Libra is Venus. This beautiful planet shrouds her mystical secrets behind a canopy of pearlescent clouds. She has been called 'The Light of Heaven and Earth'; 'The Flaming Torch'; 'The Glory of the Whole World'; and 'Queen of the Stars'. Nothing can compare to her serene beauty when she shines like a brilliant lamp in the firmament as the Star of Eve, or as the Morning Star; fit symbol of the Wisdom and Justice of God. The Babylonians, appropriate to the nature of Libra, associated Venus with Ishtar, the goddess of love. In the Dendera zodiac Venus was associated with Osiris, Isis and their son Horus, and in the later period, the goddess Hathor. The Greeks associated her with Aphrodite, the laughter-loving goddess of love and beauty. Hence it is no surprise that physical beauty, a love of harmony and a desire for happiness through close, personal relationships are all essential qualities of Libra. Isabelle Pagan tells us that Librans "hate injustice and unfairness." This sums up the keynote of this Sign and reveals the great lesson it teaches those born under its influence: JUSTICE. For who can conceive of beauty and harmony without justice? There must be no injustice, no unfairness in the relationships Librans form with their fellowmen and women. The evolved Libran will often go to extraordinary lengths to preserve the peace between friends, family and colleagues, even to the extent of overlooking — or worse — refusing to acknowledge what less charitable souls would regard as criminal faults. It is for this reason that Librans seldom wish to look too deeply into their own hearts and minds; introspection is not their strong suit. The same want of balance leads many of them to confuse sentiment with sentimentality, resulting in not a few unsuitable and unhappy love affairs. Many choose their mate early, and may make an excellent spouse, full of tenderness and affection. The danger comes when the lovelorn Libran is tempted to choose the first good-looking prospect who comes along, and live to regret their haste. Both sexes are generally immensely popular with the opposite sex, because of their uncritical attitude and easy charm. Librans hate to hurt anyone's feelings, so find it almost impossible to say no. This inevitably leads to tears when the persons or projects they have adopted prove to be more trouble than they're worth. In Greek mythology Aphrodite was frequently unfaithful to her husband Hephaestus — the Roman Vulcan — so it is not surprising that infidelity is an ever-present temptation to the primitive sons and daughters of Venus. The name Aphrodite comes from aphros, meaning sea-foam, and Hesiod tells us in his Theogony that Aphrodite was born from the white foam of the ocean. This serves to remind us that foam is only another word for froth. One of the characteristics of froth is that it spreads itself very lightly over the surface and is never found at the greatest depths — an apt description of not a few unevolved Librans such as David Cameron whom we mentioned earlier!

The symbol of the scales is the key to the meaning of this pivotal Sign of the Zodiac. Librans are constantly bringing things or people together, opposing one to the other and 'judging them in the balance.' This manifests as a strong desire for "another" in their life which we mentioned earlier; someone who will keep the scales in balance. This may be a spouse or business partner. If disharmony ensues, that person will quickly become 'the enemy'. It is through others, rather than themselves that the typical Libran demonstrates and measures their success or otherwise in life. Unfortunately, this results in a constant balancing act in which the Libran weighs the pros and cons of a person or situation so long that they often cannot make up their mind or make it up too late. It is for this reason that many of the sons and daughters of Venus rarely achieve a truly soul-satisfying partnership as they are too prone to notice small faults and weigh these up against the virtues of the chosen one. But these are by no means the only faults to be found among the lowest members of this tribe. The overweening desire for equality and fairness for all is apt to make dabblers of the primitive Libran, who will take up one 'good' cause or 'worthy' person after another, only to cast them aside when something or someone more 'promising' comes along. When asked to make a decision, call a halt to their procrastination or just hurry up, our nitpicking Libran is apt to become confused and bewildered. When a straightforward and energetic response is required they will prevaricate, temporise and equivocate in the most annoying way, driving more decisive and dynamic personalities to distraction. The positive virtues of tact and diplomacy which make the evolved specimens of this Sign such successful mediators are apt to manifest as the opposite vices of insincerity and moral cowardice in the unevolved Libran. This brings us back to JUSTICE. This not only sounds the keynote of Libra but contains lessons for all of us, regardless of whether we were born under this Sign or any other. Justice is a universal principle which runs through all things and beings. It is the wise and merciful Justice of God and His Ministers that keeps the stars in their courses. It is Justice that harmonises the conflicting desires of the Higher and lower mind by means of Inner Peace.

In the next part of this investigation we shall tell you about Isis-Serqet or Serket and the constellation and Zodiacal Sign of Scorpio which marks the middle of the Third Division of the Zodiac — that of Judgement. It is at this point in the Grand Drama depicted in the Heavens that the battle between the Higher and lower minds reaches its culmination. Who will be the victor; the saint or the sinner? The light or the darkness? In our concomitant Afterword we shall explore the occult meaning of the extra-zodiacal constellations of Serpens, Ophiuchus and Hercules.

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Constellations

Part Eight: Ara or the Altar, Corona Borealis or the Northern Crown, and Lupus or the Wolf.

In this eighth Afterword we explore the extra-zodiacal constellations of Ara or the Altar, Corona Borealis or the Northern Crown, and Lupus or the Wolf.

As we said in our article, there is considerable evidence that in ancient times ARA or the ALTAR occupied the place in the Zodiac now filled by Libra. This is represented in some star maps as a flaming censer, as shown below, a depiction reflected in its Greek name Thymiaterion, meaning an incense burner or censer.

But the Greeks did not associate this constellation with Libra or Scorpio. The reason for this strange omission is found in the passage we quoted from Isis Unveiled in our article, namely that the Virgo and Scorpio were added to the (then) ten Signs of the Zodiac "as blinds to conceal the true names which gave the key to the whole secret of creation..."

What were these 'true names', what did they Signify, and why were they concealed? The answer to these questions is partially provided by Blavatsky in Volume II of Isis Unveiled from which we drew the aforementioned quotations. We now give the whole passage in context.

"The evolution of Man and the Kosmos was synthesized for the instruction of the common people, into a single pictorial deSign — the Zodiac, or celestial belt. Instead of the twelve Signs now used, there were originally but ten known to the general public, viz.: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo-Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. These were exoteric. But in addition there were two mystical Signs inserted, which none but initiates comprehended, viz.: at the middle or junction-point where now stands Libra, and at the Sign now called Scorpio, which follows Virgo. When it was found necessary to make them exoteric, these two secret Signs were added under their present appellations as blinds to conceal the true names which gave the key to the whole secret of creation, and divulged the origin of 'good and evil'."

Although Madame Blavatsky explains why the 'true names' were 'concealed' and the reason for their substitution by Libra, she does not reveal what these names were, nor does it matter very much. The two 'mystical Signs' can only have been the lower and Higher Minds, for they and they alone give 'the key to the whole secret of creation,' and 'the origin of 'good and evil.'

Hence, what had anciently been two esoteric Signs under names since lost, became one (Virgo-Scorpio). This was later split into two, and a new Sign — Libra — inserted between Virgo and Scorpio, making the 12 Signs of the Zodiac we know today. The close similarity in the glyphs of Virgo and Scorpio shown below is sufficient evidence of their primitive kinship and later separation.

The Sumerians depicted an altar preceding Scorpio in their Zodiac. This figuration was repeated on many of their gems, tablets, and boundary stones, some of which show the two Signs of the Altar and Scorpio combined. Later, medieval astronomers pointed out that the stars in Libra seem to represent a circular altar, censer, or a lamp and fire.

On an Akkadian zodiac dated to around 2,100 B.C., the figure of a mound or altar, around which a serpent twines, appears between the constellations of the Virgin and the Scales. The Significance of this figuration will not be lost on the judicious reader, for the serpent, as we said in our article, can and does stand for either the lower or Higher mind, while the altar symbolises the place or point of sacrifice in the struggle for supremacy between them.

The ancient Akkadian name for the seventh month when the sun was in the Sign now called Libra, was Tul-ku, which means the sacred mound, or altar. They named this Sign Bir, which means the Light, hence, the Lamp with its light, or the Altar with its fire. The two illustrations shown below depict this altar. The first is taken from an Euphratean boundary stone which is thought to be over 3,000 years old. This shows the two Signs of the Altar and Scorpio combined, for the Scorpion is stretching out its claws in order to seize the Lamp or Altar. We reproduced this illustration at a larger size in our article.

The second illustration is a facsimile of the impression of a Euphratean cylinder seal which was found impressed on a written contract between two merchants. It has been dated to ca. 700 B.C., and shows this Circular Altar actually in the grasp of the Scorpion. This is how the stars formerly in the Sign of the Circular Altar, came to be reckoned in the Claws of the Scorpion; and this is how the circular scales of Libra came to be substituted for the ancient Circular Altar.

It has been said that the heart is the altar of man, whereupon he offers up his life to God. Not in the way of the savage Aztecs who, in materialising a spiritual truth, ripped out the hearts of their victims to appease their war-god Huitzilopochtli. But in the way of kindly deeds, compassion for all, and a life devoted to Goodness, Justice and Truth.

We have all to be laid upon the altar of experience; we have to be subjected to the fire of calamity, symbolised by the flames atop the star map of Ara the Altar shown earlier. According to the nature of the gold within, so shall we arise like the mythological Phoenix from the ashes of our former deeds and lowly desires, clothed in the golden habiliments of Wisdom.

E. W. Bullinger, whom we mentioned in our article, pointed out that above Ara in the Heavens we see Ophiuchus, the Serpent-Bearer struggling with the serpent in his hands, while at the same time the sinuous snake is stretching out its neck to seize the Northern Crown or Corona Borealis. These three symbolic figurations of the Altar; the serpent and the Serpent-Bearer; and the crown are replete with hidden meaning which we shall explore further in our next Afterword when we discuss Scorpio.

This leads us to our next constellation in this Afterword — CORONA BOREALIS or the Northern Crown. This is a small constellation in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere. Its Hebrew name is Atarah, meaning a royal crown while in Arabic it is Al Iclil, meaning an ornament or jewel. Corona Borealis has 21 stars: one of the 2nd magnitude and six of the 4th. Its brightest star is Alphecca, meaning shining.

It is an old and true occult maxim that the cross is followed by the crown, or more simply, "no cross — no crown." These two stages mark the beginning and the end of the long and oftimes bitter road from ignorance to wisdom that leads to initiation into the Holy Mysteries. We find a distorted reflection of this occult truth in the Christian concept of the Stations of the Cross which has its origin in the supposed path Jesus is said to have walked to his death on Mount Calvary.

In actuality, the Way of Sorrows is the path every initiate must walk if he wishes to free himself from the bonds of illusion and the need for any further incarnations on Earth. L. Adams Beck in her moving biography of Gautama Buddha describes the turning-point upon this arduous path in the words of the Great Teacher himself; words that will resonate with some of our regular readers.

"Now, resting here, have I attained my birth-weary heart’s desire, having traversed many lives to this goal. Now have I slain the self, and the fetters are broken, and not for myself alone. And lifting up his voice he cried aloud this song of triumph in the hearing of all worlds.

"Many a house of life has held me, seeking ever that which wrought these prisons of the senses, sorrow-fraught, sore was my ceaseless strife. But now, Thou Builder of the body-prison, — Thou! I know thee! Never shalt thou build again these walls of pain, nor raise the roof-tree of deceits, nor lay fresh rafters on the clay.

"Broken the House is, and the ridge-pole split. Delusion fashioned it. Safe pass I hence, deliverance to attain. For now he knew that the builder of the prison, the cause of rebirth, the hinderer from the Peace was his own false self, the dreamer of dreams, the creator of false desires and illusions, and in him this false self was dead, and only the true, the Self that is mysterious and high and One with the One survived."

There are many 'stations' of the cross in the living Testament of the Starry Firmament. Some we have already told you about, such as the sacrificial nature of the Zodiacal Sign of Aries, others will be discussed in the remaining parts of this investigation. Each has its emblem in the night sky. Some are obvious such as the constellation Crux, a small asterism in the southern celestial hemisphere more commonly known as the Southern Cross. Others are less well known, such as the Northern Cross. This small asterism is formed by the brightest stars in the constellation Cygnus or the Swan which we will discuss in our Afterword to part twelve. In the southern sky we may also behold the 'False Cross', so called because it caused mariners to confuse it with the Southern Cross when navigating the southern ocean.

Just as the Heavens contain many crosses, so too do they show forth many crowns, such as Corona Australis, a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere which the ancient Greeks associated with a wreath garlanding the head of the Archer or Sagittarius. Each figuration is emblematical of some victory upon the path to the Light — the narrow way that leads from darkness to light, from death in matter to life eternal in the spirit.

The symbolism of all these crosses and crowns is clear. Virtuous deeds of great nobility receive great rewards, though it seems to blind mortals that the reverse is often the case on Earth where the good are punished and the evil elevated to high office. Yea! the crowns of the Righteous shine with a hidden light perceived only by the Few, whereas the gaudy crowns of Earthly kings impress and overawe the many, leaving the Few unmoved.

Evil men and women oft wear a comely face and mouth smooth words — the better to conceal the worm that dwells within their black hearts. Such low potentates are often ravening wolves in sheep's clothing wrapt in disarming smiles, fully as false as their dazzling diadems. It is the wolf which is nowadays associated with our final constellation — LUPUS, Latin for wolf. But this animal is more than a heavenly reminder of the savagery and deceitfulness of men and the fate of the wicked.

Lupus lies immediately below Libra in the mid-southern celestial hemisphere, and is bordered by Scorpio to the west and Centaurus to the east. For this reason it was long considered to be an asterism within Centaurus and was not separated from it until the Greek astronomer Hipparchus of Bithynia named it therion (Greek for beast), in the 2nd century B.C.

The Greek constellation is thought by some scholars to be based on the Babylonian figure known as the Mad Dog. This was a strange hybrid creature that combined the head and torso of a man with the legs and tail of a lion. It is often found in association with the sun god and another mythical being called the Bison-man, which is supposedly related to the Greek constellation of the Centaur. We shall see what connection there is between the Dog and the Centaur in the Afterword to part ten of our investigation when we discuss the Constellation and Zodiacal Sign of Sagittarius the Archer.

The Romans called it simply Bestiis, also meaning beast. Its ancient Hebrew name was Asedah, and in Arabic Asedaton, which both mean to be slain. In Islamic Medieval astronomy, Lupus was named al-Sab, which is a term used for any predatory wild beast (the same as the Greek therion). In some Arabic manuscripts it was depicted as a lion; in others as a wolf, both conforming to the same name. In Europe, no particular animal was associated with it until the Latin translation of Ptolemy's work identified it with the wolf.

These facts show that the modern name of wolf is an arbitrary one which bears little relation to the animal actually depicted in ancient star maps. It could be any animal though we think that the hybrid creature depicted by the Babylonian astronomers comes closest to revealing the place and purpose of Lupus in the Testament of the Zodiac.

There is little doubt in our mind that this is a very ancient constellation that illustrates the sacrifice of the beast in man on the altar of bitter experience. In the detail from a star map shown below, the beast is slain by the Centaur. This reinforces the occult Significance of this constellation, which is not merely another figuration of the lower mind — the 'beast' in us all — but it's death. For, as we may read in Chapter 15 of The Quest of Ruru:

"So shall each man send forth the holy warrior that is the highest part of each, and kill, and ruthlessly destroy the lower, that takes the shape of that black dwarf you left behind in the forest a short while ago."

In actuality, as we have pointed out in several articles and Michaud explains in the book, 'kill' is a synonym for wise control, not 'ruthless' destruction. It is impossible to kill the lower mind without destroying the body at the same time, so indissolubly are the two connected during life on Earth. Death in the teachings of the Sacred Mysteries was understood to mean a Gnostic change, not the extinction of any thing or being. As we have also pointed out in our many investigations, Occult Science does not acknowledge death, only change from one state of being to another.

The beast in us is slain (or rather subdued and controlled) by ourselves. No one can do it for us. There are a number of revealing verses about this in the Bible, notably in the Gospel of John, which is by far the most occult of all the Books of the New Testament. "I lay down my life for the sheep...No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again" (John 10:15-18). The word 'sheep' is a synonym both for the followers of the True Teacher, for whom he sacrifices his life (often literally), and for the lower mind.

Moreover, not only do these verses refer to the wise control of the beast in us ('I have the power to lay it down'), but the possibility of raising it up, or rather the better part of the lower mind. For we must not lose sight of the fact that the Hermetic Law of Polarity states that everything in the universe is dual; positive and negative, light and dark, good and evil. Were there not some particle of goodness (however small or undeveloped) within tyrants such as Adolf Hitler or Stalin, the evil within them could never manifest.

The same is true of the lower mind. We can choose to encourage the evil in it, or cultivate the good. Hence, Lupus stands for the willing sacrifice of the Higher Mind upon the wooden cross of material life to further the evolution of the lower mind.

In our next Afterword we will examine the extra-zodiacal constellation of Serpens, which consists of two non-contiguous parts — Serpens Caput (the serpent's head) and Serpens Cauda (the serpent's tail). Ophiuchus or the Serpent Bearer, which lies between them, straddling the ecliptic, will also come under our lens, together with the constellation of Hercules (Greek Heracles), which lies to the north of Ophiuchus.

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