Hello everyone. Aries got us kicked off in a big way these past few weeks. The Full Moon of April 17th was packed with promise. We had a very powerful group on the Full Moon here in Rapid City. Here is hoping that you have also been productive wherever you are. In America we are all so caught up in the latest news for the past five minutes that we forget that what happened recently is still relevant. Mars was opposing Saturn at the Full Moon. This is still very much in play. What does it mean, Clay? It means that the Berlin Wall was very strong and had been there for a long time (Saturn). Many thought that it would never come down. But when the energy of change got strong enough, nothing could stop it (Mars). So what walls are you bringing down in your life? This past Friday evening and Saturday morning Venus made a conjunction to Uranus in Aries and then Mercury went direct in Aries. Did you feel it? I certainly did. What ever bold actions people have been contemplating are no longer held back. Ground Control to Major Tom. Countdown started. Engine on.
In the world of international politics I said at the New Moon that Gaddafi and the other dictators are on resuscitators. Now the ruler of Yemen wants to cut a deal, and the old guard in Syria still thinks that killing unarmed demonstrators will make Allah happy. Uh-Oh! The U.S. gubmint is in a pickle because the Empire is crumbling before our eyes. These dictators may be S.O.B.’s but they were our S.O.B.’s. People are starting to wake up to our glaring hypocrisy. What should we do? Should we invade Saudi Arabia and Syria? Quick, I know! Give them more bread and circuses. “American Idol” is still high in the ratings. The gladiators may be out on strike, but they will be back before the Fall NFL season starts. But I digress. Does anyone out there actually care for a great history lesson that makes sense of all this chaos, but takes more that two minutes to read and absorb? Well be my guest:
Empire on the Rocks: Washington’s Autocrats, Aristocrats and Thugs Are Falling How the revolutions spreading across the Middle East may well mark the beginning of the end for American global power.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, those of us here in the Black Hills will be at the Wholistic Health Expo at the Rapid City Civic Center this weekend. I will have a booth there with my friend Daniel Moore. We will be doing readings and assuring everyone that the sky is not falling. However, there is a big rumor going around that the Emperor may actually have no clothes! Come out and join us this Saturday April 30th and Sunday May 1st. Scroll down past the info on the WHS Directory to get to the poster on the Expo:
http://www.blackhillswhs.com/Wholistic_Health_Society/Events_%26_Meetings.html
This past Sunday was Goddess Day for thousands of years. Then some upstart religion came along and decided that it had better paper over this ancient celebration of Spring with their not so original resurrection story. I have no doubt that there is deep significance to the Christian resurrection imagery. Here is a good link put up about it by Robert Wilkinson:
It just chaps my spurs that so many Bible thumpers think that Christians invented all the stories that are in the Bible. One wise person said that you are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts. But the Easter season is by far the most glaring example of Evangelical Christians insisting on being fact free. Here are some names to research: Osiris, Zoroaster, Mithra, Oestara, Pan, Krishna, Buddha, etc. Just to get you started here is a teaser from www.SouledOut.org:
Aries Festival of the Risen One ~ Mythology
Traditionally the celebration of Easter falls on the Sunday following the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. This was derived by Christianity from pagan tradition when the festival of Oestara, or Eostre’s Day, heralded the onset of springtime. Ostara, or Esther, the Goddess of Spring, was honored by the old tribespeople of Europe. She has been depicted as holding an egg in her hand while watching a rabbit jump playfully around her feet, and from this association we now have the Easter Bunny.
The springtime holiday now known as Easter was christianized and occurs during this time, as does the Jewish celebration of the Passover. Indeed for thousands of years before the modern era, the vernal equinox has signaled the beginning of the season of rebirth, the resurrection of nature and of many an ancient pagan god. In the northern hemisphere we celebrate the end of winter and the return of spring … a death and resurrection, so to speak.
One of the oldest resurrection myths is of Isis and Osiris in Egypt. They were goddess and god who ruled an ancient land in peace, until Set, brother of Osiris, murdered him out of jealousy. Set cut up Osiris’s body and scattered it throughout the world. In her grief Isis collected all the pieces and, with the help of Anubis, lord of the underworld, Osiris was brought back to life. Isis and Osiris then begat Horus, the Sun god.
In the Pagan Wheel of the Year, the vernal equinox is the time when the great Mother Goddess, each cycle having again become a virgin at Candlemas, welcomes the young sun god unto her and conceives a child of this divine union. The child will be born nine months later, at Yule, the Winter Solstice.
Another story, Greek in origin, is the story of Aphrodite, the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She fell in love with the beautiful youth Adonis, and hid him in a box so that no one else could see him. She gave the box to Persephone (Ceres to the Romans), the queen of the underworld, to hide. Persephone opened the box and fell in love with Adonis, and refused to return him to Aphrodite. Aphrodite was devastated, and as she was the goddess of love and fertility, while she was in this state of mourning, all the land became barren. Zeus declared that Adonis would spend a third of the year with each goddess and a third of the year alone. For four months beginning at the spring equinox he is with Aphrodite, and the rest of the year with Persephone in the underworld.
Persephone was abducted by Hades and taken to the Underworld, and since she ate of the pomegranate there she was not allowed to return, and grew to love Hades. Her mother Demeter was consumed with rage and sorrow. She demonstrated her anger by punishing the earth’s inhabitants with bitter cold and blustering winds. Unless Persephone was returned of to her mother’s side, the earth would perish.
Hercules came to the rescue. He entered the Underworld and negotiated a compromise between the usually cold and selfish Hades and the usually loving and caring Demeter. All agreed that Persephone would to spend part of the year with her husband, Hades, and part of the year with her mother, Demeter.
When Persephone is with Hades the earth is wracked by the sorrow of her mother. But each year when Persephone returns from the underworld to walk the earth again, Demeter pours forth the blessings of spring to welcome her beloved daughter home.
The vernal equinox is the day (or period of days) in spring when the days and nights are once again of approximately equal length. Throughout history this has been held as a time of celebrating new life, the resurrection of nature from the dead, and has typically featured fertility rites and merrymaking. In ancient times there was the sacrificing of virgins and the worship of fertility gods and goddesses including Pan, Isis, Demeter, and Ceres. The goat god Pan, representing the force of life, is god of the forest and of shepherds, was said to grant new life on earth every spring.
Oh well, enough of preaching to the choir. Sometimes I just can’t help myself. The state of spiritual development known as “Zealotor” in ancient Masonic lore is where we get our modern word “Zealot.” This way was showcased over the past two thousand years as the Age of Pisces emphasized the devotional aspect of religion. It may be seen in the Jihadists, the Crusaders, the Zionists, and in the monks in cloister all over the world from Tibet to Ireland. It gave us the Gregorian chants, but alas, it also gave us the Inquisition. Too much dedication to one’s Guru can turn into something ugly when we set ourselves up to take someone else’s inventory and condemn them to Hell. That is why this state of first enthusiasm on the Spiritual Path is called the Probationary Path. It is also why the Tarot Symbol for this stage is “Temperance”, with Arch-Angel Mi-Kah-El reminding us to be modest and temperate in our enthusiasm. Let us slay the Dragon of ignorance and pride that lurks in ourselves, not in others. Saturn in Libra keeps reminding us that someone else’s Karma is their concern, not ours. Now might be a very good time to review and ponder The Four Agreements.
This coming Wednesday evening, April 27th, at 6:30 pm in our home in Rapid City we will have our third and final class on the Bhagavad-Gita. It is part of the ongoing series of classes “Lighting the Lantern.” Previously we have covered Karma Yoga, the Yoga of Action, and Jnana Yoga, the Yoga of knowledge. This final section of the Gita will explain to you why there were all those people with shaved heads and saffron robes running around chanting “Hare Krishna” at you in the airport as you rushed to make your connections. It is known as Bhakti Yoga, or the Yoga of Devotion. All are welcome. Hari Om!
This coming Saturday April 30th Venus makes the same opposition to Saturn that Mars made back on April 18th. Mars is making the conjunction to Jupiter also on the same day, April 30th. What does it mean, Clay? Well, all I can tell you is that once Humpty-Dumpty fell off the wall, all the King’s horses and all the King’s men, well you know the rest…………………………
We now return control of your set box to you……………..
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