1. Astrology and Reincarnation_Manly P. Hall

ASTROLOGY AND

REINCARNATION

BY

MANLY P. HALL

CONTENTS

PACE

How TO READ YOUR PAST AND FUTURE LIVES. 3

ASTROLOGY AND REINCARNATION. 18

. ASTROLOGY AND KARMA 28

HOW TO READ YOUR PAST .

AND FUTURE LIVES

The science of astrology had its beginning with the most learned nations of antiquity. The first astrologers were priests and philosophers, who found no conflict between the principles of astrology and the sacred philosophical systems which, ancient his- torians agree, were first revealed to humanity by the gods. Thus astrology not only conforms with those universal laws which were the foundations of an- cient wisdom, but is also perfectly compatible with ancient standards of morality and ethics. Unfortunately, the philosophy of astrology finds few exponents in this modern age. Men, more in- terested in material fortune than the metaphysical mysteries of the soul, have ignored the more pro- found issues of the astral science. But Brahman sages in rock-hewn temples, Chaldean magi on their lofty ziggurats, and Egyptian priests in their stone observatories did not devote thousands of years to the perfection of astrology merely out of curiosity concerning their mundane affairs. To all these wise men, the mysteries of the heavens were a revelation of divine principles and divine will. The handwrit-

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ing of stars on the wall of heaven was to them in the very language of the gods. The nations most given to astrological research also accepted the doctrine of the rebirth of human souls. Since these two important teachings, astrology and reincarnation, developed side by side, and the believers in the one teaching were also the expo- nents of the other, it is evident that no point of con- flict exists between the belief in rebirth and the science of the stars. The Hermetic philosophers, the wisest of the Egyptians, possessed a profound knowledge of both of these mysteries, as did also Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle, the noblest thinkers among the Greeks. The Druid priests of Britain and Gaul included both reincarnation and astrology among their secret teach- ings. These noble men, revered as among the wisest and most virtuous of mortals, could not have been party to ignorance or superstition. In these matters, then, we should consider their opinions with all seriousness.

Among Oriental nations, the science of astrology and the doctrine of rebirth are still included to- gether in the philosophy of life. Old Hindu text- books on astrology, attributed to the saints and Rishis, contain hints and allusions to the method of determining past and future states of existence from

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a natal horoscope. Among the lamas of Tibet, secret formulas, carefully guarded from the profane, are still used by astrologer-priests to determine the parts of the previous existence from the position of the stars at the beginning of this life. The problems which these Tibetan priests seek to solve are comprehended under three headings: 1. The place of the spiritual entity among the nidanas, or the sequences of consequences, which cause the physical incarnation of the soul. 2. The level or plane of consciousness in which the entity functioned prior to its present life, which contributes the moral force to the present existence. 3. Such details and circumstances of the previous existence as may account for the karma, or processes of retribution, which are at work in the present ex- istence. In addition to these, a horoscope may be erected for the moment of death by which the future state of the soul or entity is estimated. Altogether, this part of astrology is concerned with that larger theater of action of which the pres- ent life is but a fragment. To all philosophic peo- ples, man's present state is the result of previous life and action. To understand this, is to discover the cause of present conditions. Asiatic astrologers have practiced this part of the science for thousands of

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years, and their findings should be of interest to Western students of astrology.

The principle behind the Bhava Chakra (Cycle of Transmigratory Existence) recorded on the ceil- ing of the Lamaist monastery at Sik-kim is entirely astrological. The outer circle of the figure is di- vided into 12 parts which are termed the nidanas, or the causes, that move the soul to rebirth. These nidanas are the 12 zodiacal signs, each one of which contains within it an impulse to action or, as the ancients termed it, a cause of contact.

The first nidana, under Aries, is called the un- conscious will. It is represented by a blind man, and signifies the soul passing from death to rebirth.

The second nidana, under Taurus, is called con- formation, and is represented by a potter and his pots signifying the soul shaping the materials of the mental and physical natures. The third nidana, under Gemini, is called the con- scious will, and is typified by the restlessness of the monkey. It signifies the rise of conscious experience in the soul. The fourth nidana, under Cancer, called self-con- sciousness, is represented by a ship containing man, woman, and animals, and signifies the rise of the quality of individuality.

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The fifth nidana, under Leo, is represented by an empty house, and signifies the development of the sensory perceptions. The sixth nidana, under Virgo, is a figure repre- senting murriage, and signifies the focusing of the sense perceptions upon exterior objects. The seventh nidanu, under Libra, is represented by a figure with an arrow in its eye, and signifies the illusions of pain and pleasure and their reaction upon the soul. The eighth nidana, under Scorpio, is called desire, and is involved in the experiences of gratification. The ninth nidana, under Sagittarius, is termed indulgence, and is represented by a man collecting fruit into a basket. It signifies attachment to world- ly possessions. The tenth nidana, under Capricorn, represents maturity, and signifies the fullness of material ex- istence brought to its highest philosophical level. The eleventh nidana, under Aquarius, is compen- sation represented by the birth of a son. This signi- fies the paying of all debts to nature and final de- tachment therefrom. The twelfth nidana, under Pisces, shows the dead body being carried to the grave. It signifies decay of all points of contact by which the life is held to the material state.

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After the twelfth, the first begins again, and so on through all the cycles of existence. The nidanas, of course, represent the dominating consciousness or the place of the spiritual self in the great cycle of progress. While our little life has its birth, growth, maturity and decay, so many hundreds of these lives form together a greater cycle involving a vast process of life moving through its several stages.

By the position of the sun, the nidana is de- termined; and by the Ascendant, the subdivision of the nidana is ascertained. Thus, a person born with the sun in Pisces is born to the experience of detach- ment, for he is bringing a cycle of experience to an end. A person born with the sun in Scorpio is born under the eighth nidana, and the sole purpose of his existence is to experience the consequences of greed, personality, and possession. The Ascendant of the horoscope represents a minor cycle of experience with a great one. It quali- fies and specializes the general significance. For ex- ample, the fifth nidana, or Leo, is an externalizing of the sensory power and generally manifests as ambition. If the Ascendant is in the third nidana, or Gemini, representing the effort to establish in- dividual sufficiencies, it qualifies the major factor and denotes that the ambitions will be of an intel- lectual or mental nature. By calculations based upon

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this arrangement, the primary purpose of the soul's incarnation is established. In application, it is gen- erally found that this purpose more or less dominates the individual in whose horoscope it is indicated. In the Tibetan monastery figure, the central part of the design, representing the world or, more ex- actly, the conditions of consciousness which together make up the world, is divided into six parts. In the painting, these parts or panels are filled with elabo- rate designs setting forth the condition of souls in various levels or degrees of spiritual development. The six compartments of the circle are divided into an upper and lower hemisphere of three com- partments each. The upper hemisphere represents the three nobler states of being which are denomi- nated in degrees of excellence: (1) the world of the gods; (2) the world of the Titans or heroes; (3) the world of men. Together these three parts depict the happy states of consciousness which are the reward of good karma-that is, lives of noble thought and action. The three compartments of the lower hemisphere of the circle depict the miseries resultant from bad karma, or destructive thought, emotion, and action. The three compartments are named respectively: (1) the world of animals; (2) the world of ghosts; (3) the world of hells or spheres of violent retri- bution.

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In each of these six parts of the world is also de- picted a form of the Buddha symbolizing the uni- versal enlightenment, which regenerates and pre- serves evolving souls in all the spheres of being. The sun, of course, represents the Buddha, the power of diffused illumination. The solar energy, distributed through the natural creation, is the uni- versal source of the impulse toward light and truth. The six compartments through which the sun's light shines pertain to the other major bodies of the solar system known to the old astrologers. The world of the gods is the sphere of Jupiterian consciousness; that of the Titans, Martial consciousness; that of human beings, Mercurial consciousness. These plan- ets, therefore, dominate the upper hemisphere of the sphere of consciousness. Venus represents animal consciousness; the moon, the imaginative conscious- ness, termed the world of ghosts; and Saturn, the retribution consciousness or the karmic hells. In the East, it is taught that each soul coming in- to material life enters from one of the six compart- ments of the Wheel of the Law. Astrologically, the rule for determining the origin of the soul's present life cycle is as follows: Examine the horoscope and discover whether the sun or the moon is the stronger. Determine this from position, dignity, and aspect. Then observe in (10)

which decanate the more powerful luminary is placed. Find the ruler of this decanate according to ordinary astrological practice, and the ruler of the decanate shall signify the sphere of consciousness, or Lokas, from which the soul came into birth. Next examine the position of the planet which is ruler of the decanate as to its dignity, position, aspect, etc. From this determine the quality of the previous life. If the ruler of the decanate enjoys dignity and high position, the same would be true of the previous life of the native. If it is afflicted, cadent, or ill-placed, the previous state of the life was lowly or unfor- tunate.

A similar system is practiced by the Brahmans. They consider only four worlds, but the method of determining this important matter is identical in both systems.

In astrology, the sign ascending on the eastern angle of the heavens at the moment of birth is the general significator of the present incarnation, and the entire horoscope is read from this Ascendant, and all the testimonies of the chart are blended with the fundamental keynote of this ascending sign. The zodiacal sign upon the cusp of the 12th house may be termed the preceding sign to the Ascendant. and the zodiacal sign upon the cusp of the 2nd house may be termed the succeeding sign from the Ascend-

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ant As the Ascendant signifies the present state of the evolving soul, the cusp of the 12th house be- comes the significator of the life previous to the present one, and the sign upon the cusp of the 2nd house, the next incarnation after the present one. The rule is that angular houses signify the present life, succedent houses the next life to come, and cadent houses the previous life and its karma. If, then, we move the horoscope sufficiently to bring the 12th house cusp to the Ascendant, we can then read the horoscope as the nativity of the pre- vious life. Ordinarily the 12th house of the horo- scope is termed the house of self-undoing, in that it reveals the fundamental weaknesses of character which undermine the probability of present success. The term self-undoing is identical in meaning with karma, or the accumulation of past actions which overshadow present conditions. This accumulation is carried forward from life to life until all weak- nesses are overcome and final perfection is achieved. It naturally follows that whatever zodiacal sign dominates the present life of the individual, the sign previous to it signifies the karma brought for- ward from the past. The positions of the ruler of that sign and planets in the 12th house reveal the circumstances of the previous existence, the prob- able place and time of the previous birth, and the general circumstances of that existence.

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The sign Aries ascending indicates Pisces to have dominated the previous existence. Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, is the beginning of a new cycle of experience. Aries people have come into this life from a previous existence of limitation, responsi- bility, and bondage. Their present life is therefore a release, and they move forward, dominated by strong ambition and enthusiasm.

If Taurus is ascending, they have brought for- ward the impulse of the previous Arian cxistence. Most Taurians bring forward attitudes of Aries, and, beneath their artistic surface, emotional fires bear witness to the militancy of their previous incarna- tion.

When Gemini ascends, we find beneath the in- tellectual attitude the karmic pressure of Taurus. The superficiality of the Gemini temperament is evi- dent throughout this country, which is strongly Mer- curial. Yet, under the general intellectual surface of the nation is a powerful and despotic economic force that is a distinct Taurian hangover. When Cancer ascends, Gemini lurks in the back- ground. Cancer people are subject to the distorted imaginations of a negative and uncontrolled Mer- cury. It is hard for Cancer people to be natural and relaxed, for behind them is a life lived under the influence of a negative Mercury agitating the in-

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tellect by a complex of opinions and fears that are too often allowed to grow into facts. When Leo is ascending, there is generally a strength complex arising out of the weakness of the previous life. For this reason, Leo people are apt to be egotistic and power-loving, building a positive outward front to protect a very sensitive, emotional, imaginative, subjective nature held over from the Cancer influence. When Virgo is ascending, there is a subconscious repentance in the soul. The previous life was under the forceful, dominating influence of Leo. The Leo incarnation revealed the emptiness and vainness of authority, and the native is born into Virgo with a strong tendency to the simple life. Virgo is a sign of atonement, and the individual has the impulse to help a world which he probably tyrannized in the previous life. Deep inside themselves many people have rather a definite Leo superiority complex and a tendency to boss. When Libra ascends, the individual brings into life Virgo karma. The people of Virgo have a tend- ency to lean and depend, and this weakness comes forward in Libra as a sense of internal insufficiency The Libra native is of an artistic, somewhat irri- table, delicate temperament. He has strong vanity arising out of his Virgo repentance.

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When Scorpio ascends, the strong emotional pow- er of the previous life combines its force with the fiery nature of this sign. Libra is artistic and emo- tional with a tendency to melancholy. Scorpio in- tensifies these qualities, giving also depth and or- ganization to the thought. The self-gratification of Libra is the natural foundation for the powerful ambitions of Scorpio. Sagittarius ascending produces a jovial tempera- ment, but the Scorpio qualities of the previous life are also present, producing their love of the mys- terious, religious, and philosophic aspirations, a strong emotional nature, a love of power and po- sition, and danger of overindulgence. The schemes and plots of Scorpio are released as vast promotion projects by the Sagittarians. It may at first seem improbable that we should find much of Sagittarius in the Capricornian. With Capricorn rising, however, we find great emphasis upon the ambitions and a considerable measure of the Sagittarian concept of justice. When Capricorn ascends, the individual generally feels that he is limited or inhibited. The large Jupiterian promo- tions of his previous life are curtailed by the Sa- turnine limitations of his present sphere of action, so he is dissatisfied and repressed. As Capricorn is the most limited sign in the zodiac (a limitation, however, mostly self-imposed), it is

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natural that the next incarnation should be a revolt against limitation. The result is the Aquarian whose life is often dedicated to unconventionality. With Aquarius rising, there is a general revolt against precedent, convention, and conservativeness. Gen- erous in large matters, Aquarians often retain a self- ishness in small things essentially Capricornian.

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac and it brings to an end the cycle of karma set in motion in Aries. People with this sign rising will usually have rather hectic lives, gathering up the loose ends of un. finished business. From Aquarius, the preceding sign, come vacillation, inconsistency, and nervousness. From all the preceding signs come responsibilities and problems to be assimilated and transmuted into soul power. It is the particular duty of the Piscean to put his life in order and prepare himself for a new beginning and a higher level of action. Pisces is the weakest of the signs because it represents the end of a cycle of experience.

By reading the 12 th house as the Ascendant, the general pattern of the previous life can be deter- mined with reasonable detail, and we can discover the subtle forces which have brought us to our pres- ent state and dominate our present life. Through the understanding of this branch of astrology, we can appreciate the old philosophical belief that all

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we are today is the result of what we have been, and that what we will be tomorrow must be the re- sult of what we are today. We learn from the past, we labor in the present, and we build for the future.

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ASTROLOGY AND REINCARNATION

Flavius Claudius Julian, generally known as the Apostate, Emperor of Rome, was bom at Constanti- nople, November 6, 331 A. D. He propitiated the god Mercury as lord of his geniture, and from this circumstance, checked by his appearance and the events of his life, it appears that he was born with the sign of Gemini ascending. Julian was by far the most learned and philo sophical of the Roman emperors, and probably also exceeded all the others in personal virtue and in- tegrity. At the time of his birth, the Flavian family, rulers of Rome, was nominally Christian as the re- sult of the conversion of Constantine, surnamed the Great. Julian was educated as a Christian in Nico- media by the Bishop Eusebius and even officiated as a lecturer in the Christian church. The circumstances which caused Julian to de- nounce the Christian faith and return to the pagan doctrines of the classical world have been variously described. The young man was of an extremely re- ligious and sensitive nature, with strong development of the faculty of veneration. His fine sense of values led him early to the realization of the greatness of

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Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle. His childhood brought him into constant contact with the iniqui- ties of the Christian house of Flavian The Christian Emperor Constantius massacred Julian's father and most of his relatives, banished his half-brother Gallus to Ionia, and spared Julian only because of his ex- treme youth. A third factor in Julian's conversion to paganism was probably the Grecian influence in the prevailing educational system. Julian's teachers were men who highly venerated the Grecian philoso- phies and early instilled the old lore into the young man's mind. In his twentieth year, Julian was secretly initiated into the Mysteries of the Ephesians by the priest- philosopher Maximus, and four years later, in Ath- ens, he was solemnly accepted into the Mysteries of Eleusis. He may, therefore, be regarded as one of the last great initiates of the pagan world. There is no evidence that Julian ever persecuted the Christians, although he wrote a powerful essay against the corruptions of their faith. It is certain, however, that he gave favor in government to pa- gans, and surrounded himself with philosophers and priests of non-Christian rites. The call to the purple came on his birthday, No- vember 6, 355 A.D., which seems to check the prob- ability of the accuracy of his horoscope as given.

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The responsibilities of government weighed heavily upon the soul of the philosopher-emperor and inter- fered seriously with the development of his religious ideals. But it has been said of him that he pene- trated as far in philosophy as the responsibilities of empire would permit.

Representations of the Emperor Julian portray him as a man of noble visage, heavy beard, promi- nent nose, and a definitely Scorpio asymmetry of features. He described himself as being utterly in- different to the formalities of rulership and the niceties of personal appearance. He tells us that even while campaigning he continued his studies and writing, and that on the battlefield his fingers were stained with ink. Bound by the circumstances of the times in which he lived, Julian nevertheless repre- sented a standard of personal integrity far above the majority of his contemporaries and worthy of recognition in any age.

The historian Libanius thus describes Julian's amazing life and temperament: "Always abstemious, and never oppressed by food, he applied himself to business with the activity of a bird, and dispatched it with infinite ease. In one and the same day, he gave several audiences; he wrote to cities, to magis- trates, to generals of armies, to his absent friends, to those who were on the spot; hearing letters read

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that were addressed to him, examining petitions, and dictating with such rapidity that the short-hand writ- ers could not keep pace with him. He alone had the secret of hearing, speaking, and writing at the same time; and in this multitude of complicated opera- tions he never mistook. After having dispatched business, and dined merely through urgent necessity, shutting himself up in his library, he read and com- posed till the instant when affairs of state summoned him to other labours. A supper still more sparing than the dinner was followed by a sleep as light as his meals. He awakened in order to labour with other secretaries whom he had allowed to sleep on the preceding day. His ministers were obliged to re- lieve each other; but, as for himself, he knew no repose but the change of employment. He alonc was always labouring, he multiplied himself, and as- sumed as many forms as Proteus. Julian was a pon- tiff, author, diviner, judge, general of the army, and, in all these characters, the father of his country." The extraordinary personality of Julian is well shown in his horoscope. There is a grand trine of planets in the watery triplicity abundantly testifying to the accounts of various historians who describe his devotion to the mystical and occult arts. It is sel- dom that one discovers a nativity containing a grand trine involving the sun, the moon, the ruler of the chart and the lord of the midheaven.

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..

FLIAN

HOROSCOPE OF FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIAN, EMPEROR OF ROME, BORN NOV. 6, 331 A.D., 6:20 P. M. Thomas Taylor, the eminent Platonist, in his In- troduction to the Orations of the Emperor Julian, observes: "The grandeur of his soul is so visible in his composition, that we may safely credit what he asserted of himself, that he was formerly Alexander the Great, and if we consider the actions of Alex- ander and Julian, we shall easily be induced to be- lieve that it was one and the same person." If it is possible to discover from the positions of the planets any key to the previous life of an in- dividual, no better example could be chosen for study than the horoscope of the initiate Julian. By (22)

virtue of his acceptance into the sacred body of pagan learning, he should be particularly qualified to pass judgment on the condition of his previous existencc. As a pagan, Julian was well informed concerning the action of the law of rebirth. Let us now turn for a moment to the life of Alexander the Great. Unfortunately, we are without a correct horoscope of his nativity. In 1662 the English astrologer, John Gadbury, published a horo- scope purported to be that of Alexander, but the 17th century was notoriously inaccurate in matters regarding history, and as early as 1697, the astrologer Partridge exposed the improbability in the accepted birth date of Alexander. Modern historians have shown the old nativity to be incorrect, not only in month and day, but also in the year. According to Hogath, probably the most reliable authority on the subject, Alexander the Great was bom B. C. 356, probably in the month of October. Portraitures of Alexander and written descriptions of his appearance agree in general that he was a man of medium height, of strong, squarely built body. The head was large, the face somewhat flat, the eyes large and wide apart, the forehead low with a heavy prominent lock or tuft of hair low in the center. His eyes are described as liquid and melting. The neck was some- what large, the chin square, and the lips full. In other words, we have a pretty good description of

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a Taurian, nor is there lack of precedent of the con- quering power of Taurus ascending. George Wash- ington had this sign rising, and it dominated the nativity of General Grant. From Hogath's data, the sun sign was most likely Libra. This sign is also often associated with leadership and conquering genius. According to the given time, Napoleon I had Libra rising, and another example of the am- bitions of this sign was Adolph Hitler. Gandhi also had the sun in Libra.

The lives of Alexander and Julian were certainly parallel in many respects. Both men were devoted to classical learning. Alexander the Great respected his tutor, Aristotle, above all other men. On one occasion, he declared Aristotle to be far dearer to him than his own father, for he said: "My father gave me being, but Aristotle gives me well-being." The youths of both Alexander and Julian were simi- larly involved in conspiracies and disasters. Both men died at an early age. There was only one year's dif- ference in the length of their lives. Alexander died of poison; Julian, of a wound. Both died at a dis- tance from their native lands while on campaigns of conquest, and the places were not far removed. Alexander died in Babylon; Julian, in Assyria.

Following the rules set forth in the preceding chapter, let us examine the chart of Julian. The (24)

first rule is to observe which of the luminaries is more dignified, and take the ruler of the decan as the significator of the estate and condition of the previous life. The sun and moon are both highly dignified in the chart of Julian, but the moon en- joys the added strength of being in its own sign. The moon is in the second decan of Cancer, which is under the rulership of Scorpio; therefore, Mars is the significant planet. From this, we should read that in his previous incarnation Julian should have been a soldier or some person engaged in martial pursuits. In Julian's nativity, Mars is in the 10th house, the house of kingship, leadership and honors, and so placed, is part of the grand trine enjoying powerful benefic aspects from the sun, moon, and Mercury. It would be perfectly proper, according to the most conservative rules of astrology, to declare Mars so placed to represent an extraordinary meas- ure of martial dignity and a royal or at least highly honored position among men. Our second rule relates to the progress of the sun and Ascendant from life to life. According to this, the sign on the cusp of the 12th house should in- dicate the Ascendant of the previous life, and the sign previous to the sun sign should represent the sun sign of the previous life. If Alexander was born in October, it is quite reasonable to suppose that his sun sign could have been Libra, which is the sign

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previous to the sun sign of the Emperor Julian. The description of Alexander is so definitely Taurian that it is well within possibility that he had Taurus ris- ing. Alexander believed himself to be the incarna- tion or embodiment of the god Dionysus. This di- vinity was frequently depicted with the horns of a bull, and is usually associated by mythologists with the sign of Taurus. It is therefore quite possible that Alexander propitiated Dionysus as the deity of his ascending hour in the same way that Julian propi- tiated Mercury. Some astrologers maintain that the sign ruling the I2th house may indicate the nationality of the pre- vious life. Taurus rules Greece. To follow out the theory that the 12th house cusp signifies the previous incarnation, turn the chart of Julian so that the cusp of the 12th becomes the Ascendant, and discover if possible to what degree this position could repre- sent the life of Alexander. To point out a few possi- bilities, Capricorn becomes the ruler of the mid- heaven. Capricorn governs India, and it was one of Alexander's greatest ambitions to convert the Hindus to Grecian art and religion. Mars and Uranus are in the 11th house, to represent Alexander's hopes, ideals and ambitions. May not the grand trine focusing upon these planets signify the extreme emphasis of ambition in the life of Alexander, who wailed to his generals that there were no more worlds to con-

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quer? Sagittarius is on the 8th cusp, becoming the significator of death. Jupiter, the ruler of the house of death, is in the 5th, opposing Mars and Uranus, to signify his undoing. Venus, also, is in the 8th house and shares with Jupiter in signifying the cir- cumstances of dissolution. Alexander feasted and debauched for six days (Jupiter in the 5th), was finally poisoned (Venus in the 8th), and died a great distance from home (Sagittarius on the cusp of the 8th). From these indications and others it is possible to conclude that if Julian were not the reincarna- tion of Alexander, he was certainly the reincarna- tion of a person much like Alexander in many re- spects-a brilliant military genius, whose ambitions were inordinate and against the balancing and rea- soning forces of Jupiter. It is also interesting to ask the fate of the soul of Julian after it was freed from the body of the Roman Emperor. Move the horoscope so that the 2nd house becomes the Ascendant, and try to solve the mystery of the next life of Julian the Apostate.

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ASTROLOGY AND KARMA

HOW WE MAKE OUR OWN FATE

"There is no fatal necessity in the stars," wrote Lord Bacon, "and this, more prudent astrologers have consistently allowed." Opponents of astrology frequently advance the argument that belief in the influence of the heaven- ly bodies leads to a fatalistic attitude toward all the problems of life. We all like to think of ourselves as free agents. We chafe at any factor of restraint, physical or psychological. We all like to talk about free countries, free speech, and free trade. The very thought of freedom has become a fetish. We rise in righteous wrath against anyone who seeks to curb the spontaneous abandon of our actions. We ac- knowledge no authority superior to our own desires, and feel that the democratic theory of government has released us forever from supervision and re- straint. Are we not all born free and equal ? May not the humblest child hope to be a senator when he grows up? Were not all our great capitalists, prize-fighters, and movie stars once humble and in- significant persons? Every man knows he is the equal of every other man, and superior to most. Success is a matter of "breaks." Even the subtle restraint of the merit system, demanding certain standards of (28)

thought and action, has been dissipated by the equality complex. The materialist views astrology as a sort of astral theology. He feels that old orthodoxies are being fed to him again, under a new name. He feels the influence of the heavenly bodies to be as improb- able as heaven and hell, and relegates angels and planets to a common limbo. The modern man, wise with the conceits of 20th-century scholasticism, can find nothing in the universe nobler than himself, and settles down to a fanatical veneration of his own superiority. It is not, of course, within the province of any science to convert a man against his will, yet even a little thought must convince the reasonable-minded man that some principle of order binds together the far-flung purposes of the cosmos. It certainly can- not be scientifically demonstrated that the universe is merely one vast accident manifesting by means of innumerable lesser accidents. Despite the conceits of mortals, the vast pageantry of cosmic order manı. fests throughout its every part absolute and immut- able law. The very thought of this cosmic law oppresses and disturbs the lawless mortals of this generation. Man hates to think that he is a mere atom moved by in- evitable and immutable laws. Egotism is the most

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easily offended of the conceits, and man is mortally offended by the immensities of the universe about him. The universe of the wise man is unendurable to the foolish. To ease the aching of his personal pride, the Sophist has decreed that space be regarded as mindless and soulless, that man alone is endowed with sovereign reason, decreed by the accident of fate to become master of all the works of the in- finite will. How different from this modern attitude was the gentler vision of the ancients. They held all creation to be ensouled by a divine will and a universal pur- pose. Instead of being offended by the sense of their own smallness, they rejoiced in the vastness and sufficiency of the wisdom that preserved all life and sustained the order of cosmic progress. It was among the wisest of ancient nations that philosophy and astrology grew up together, each accepted as a complement of the other. Nor was antiquity enfeebled by a sense of fatalism; rather, it rejoiced in the recognition of immutable insti- tutions of law in which no elements of change or accident existed. Having discovered and accepted the great laws of life, the philosophers of antiquity put their own lives in order, gladly acknowledging the sovereign wisdom which regulated justly and certainly all celestial and terrestrial affairs.

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The law of cause and effect is one of the most important of the seven great laws by which, accord- ing to the ancient wisdom, the universe is sustained. The acceptance of this law and the understanding of its inferences is found in nearly all of the old systems of religion and science. Over forty great na- tions of the past have preserved this law in their scriptures by the statement which we call the golden rule. Unrecognized by most, this same law preserves all the consistencies of life and action. The farmer plants his seed with perfect assurance that it will grow. Science accepts this law in every laboratory experiment. We live from day to day sustained by the conviction that certain causes will always produce consistent effects, and we have never yet been disappointed. Yet very few people apply the law of cause and effect to personal action, sometimes because of ig- norance, but more often, as already observed, be- cause the training of the modern man has caused him to feel that he is in some way superior to or apart from the ordinary edicts of nature The great philosopher of India, Gautama Buddha, once said: "Effect follows cause as the wheel of the cart follows the foot of the oxen." We live in a world completely ruled by a law of universal com- pensation. Most of the miseries which now afflict

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suffering mankind are due to our ignoring the prin- ciple of compensation in action. We do not sense the profound moral inference behind the story of the sowing and the reaping. It is perfectly natural to ask: how does astrology fit into this picture? What part do the stars play in the administration of the law of cause and effect? To understand this point, we must also have re- course to another law of the ancients-reincarna- tion. Life is eternally building, constantly improving vehicles for its own expression. For our present purpose, we narrow down this subject to the life of man, for as Socrates once wise- ly observed: "The proper study for mankind is man." Reincarnation applied to man teaches that each human being has already lived many times upon this earth, and in future ages will frequently return. The present life of a person is, therefore, not the whole of his existence, but a mcre fragment. Causes leading up to this present existence arc not always evident in this life, nor are the conse- quences, which, arising from present action, will manifest in some future life. The ancients believed that from the horoscope it was possible to discover certain generalities of the previous life. The law of cause and effect, when applied par- ticularly to human concerns, was called karma by

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the ancients. Karma does not mean fatalism, but rather, compensation. When a man buys something on credit, he creates a debt, and the law declares that he must pay that debt. In a material, economic transaction this would not be regarded as fatalism, but as responsibility. Every action which a human being performs may thus be regarded as a cause, and every cause thus set in motion must have an effect consistent with itself. This is not fatality; this is compensation, or karma.

In this unphilosophic age, we all like to hope that by some mysterious formula we can escape the re- sponsibilities of destructive action. We want to be selfish, but we do not want to suffer the reactions of selfishness. We constantly break natural law, and we are all seeking some panacea which will remove from us the unhappy consequences of our indiscretions. The theological doctrine of the forgiveness of sin is a salve to take the sting from the reactions of iniquity, but the law of cause and effect can never be evaded, and all the evils that we do return to us again. There is no escape from any part of them.

The law of compensation, or karma, has two dis- tinct aspects. Good karma is the beneficent reaction of constructive action. Fine and noble causations pro- duce like consequences, bringing us joy and security and the good things of life. Bad karma is the re- (33)

action of destructive action. Evil causes set in mo- tion produce evil consequences, resulting in the miseries and misfortunes which afflict this present life. When we are born into this world, there are three factors working together, molding and modifying our existence here. The first is good karma, which brings certain privileges of happiness and improve- ment, and surrounds us with such good things as we have earned. The second is bad karma, which manifests as the difficulties of the hour and the apparent evil fatality which dogs our footsteps. The third factor is action itself, our individual expression which is constantly making new karma, good or bad, according to the merit of the action itself.

Philosophy teaches us to be modest in success (good karma), patient in adversity (bad karma), and constructive in all action. A life so lived prom- ises future lives of greater enlightenment and hap- piness. The law of cause and effect controls, among other things, the actual phenomenon of birth itself. We are born at the time which we have merited, into conditions which we have merited, and into oppor- tunities suitable for the next stage of our develop- ment. Each person is in the place he has earned for himself, and, if he is dissatisfied with his present (34)

condition, then he must set up within himself the causes which will result in a better state. . Astrology is the mechanism which administers the law of karma. The universe is vibration. The inter- action of the heavenly bodies is constantly setting up fields of specialized vibration. The incarnating entity of man is also a rate of vibration, modified by the karmic factors within itself. The incarnation of the individual is determined by these vibratory factors. He is born into circumstances consistent with the karmic modifications of his own nature. He is born when the planets are arranged in a pattern consistent with his own karma. With his first breath, man breathes in the sidereal influences; and what he has merited comes to him from the stars and becomes the individuality determinant for his entire life.

The stars, then, are not merely sending baneful influences upon some poor, weak, helpless mortal. They are really administering universal justice, be- stowing upon each according to his own works. This is not fatalism. It is compensation. One of the first things that every philosopher must learn is to pay gladly the debts which he has incurred in nature. All karma, both good and bad, leads finally to en- lightenment through experience.

It is very often possible to determine, to some de- gree, the karmic elements in life from the horo- (35)

scope, for in many respects the nativity is a state- ment of indebtedness, a bill rendered to each of us when we are born. In it are set forth the debits and credits of karma, as these apply directly to the pres- ent life.

The path of progress is with the sun, and as karma arises from past action, it is most apt to be revealed through the qualities of the signs preceding those occupied by the sun and the Ascendant in this pres- ent life.

As you realize, the signs of the zodiac are al- ternately positive and negative. The positive signs are Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquar- ius. The negative signs are Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces. To understand what is meant by positive and negative, it would prob- ably be more appropriate to use the terms objective and subjective. Objective signs gain experience by contact with external sources of knowledge, and objectify impulses. The subjective signs are much more introverted, and their reactions arise from with- in themselves, rather than from external contact. The negative and positive signs alternating represent an ebb and flow of energy. The Oriental philoso- phers symbolized it by an inbreathing and outbreath- ing, an alternating process of externalizing. These signs themselves are closely related, therefore, to

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cause and effect, the positive signs being causes, and the negative signs effects, or actions and reactions.

Persons born under the positive signs of the zodiac are not so apt to sense the karmic factors in life as those born under the more psychically sensitive nega- tive signs. This does not mean that the positive signs escape cosmic law, but they interpret impulses so definitely into action that they seldom feel the retrib- utive aspect of energy. This explains why people born under the negative signs are much more fatal- istic than their positive sign brothers and sisters.

You may have already observed that each of the zodiacal signs includes among its keywords qualities belonging to previous signs. I believe that each sign works out the karma of the previous sign. Also, each sign rebels against the limitations of the previous sign. The sign of the zodiac under which we are born reveals not only the personal tendencies of the present personality, but also brings forward a statement of unfinished business from the past. If previous action has merited a fortunate karma, then the qualities of the sign are positively stated. If previous action merits an unfortunate karma, then the negative responds to the negative vibration of the sign. All of the sidereal influences are in themselves neutral, but they manifest as constructive or destruc- tive according to the merit of the individual himself.

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Let us consider the signs in their order, bearing in mind especially the workings of the law of karma: Aries, the first sign, is in itself positive, but it carries with it much of the negativeness of Pisces, the preceding sign. There is no more certain indica- tion of weakness than constant effort to be strong, or an overstatement of ambition. Aries is a sign of re- bellion against the limitations and restraint of Pisces. Disappointment may be considered an Aries charac- teristic. Persons born under the sign are constantly struggling to overcome obstacles, not realizing that their greatest obstacle is the Piscean weakness with- in themselves.

Taurus is a negative sign, but persons born under it are in many ways more positive than negative in their impulses. Many men successful in industry and military are born under this supposedly negative sign. The reason is that the inordinate ambitions of Aries lie in the karmic background of all Taurus people. The reason the sign is termed negative is be- cause very often these dynamic impulses are blocked in their manifestation by the inflexible Taurian tem- perament. Ambition is locked in and comes to noth- ing, unless the Taurian person subjects his life to a powerful self-discipline. Even the successful Taurians are notoriously unhappy. Whatever they achieve is unsatisfying, and they live and die in bondage to

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unfulfilled desires. Their Aries karma denies them contentment.

Gemini is considered to be a strong, positive, in- tellectual sign, but throughout all of its aspects it is dominated by the subjective emotional impulses of Taurus. Gemini people are notoriously irritable and inconstant. One of the chief professions of the sign is writing, and literature as a whole is emo- tional and artistic, and its inspiration comes much more from Venus than from Mercury. Mercurial people are strongly temperamental, often moody, and not infrequendy have morbid imaginations. The neg- ative Mercurian frequently lacks integrity and is largely dominated by impulses and sense gratifica- tion, which is brought over from Venus, the ruler of Taurus.

Cancer is a negative sign, strongly sympathetic and frequently a victim of inadequate mental control. The bad karma of Gemini works out through the dubious reasoning powers of the Cancer type. The undeveloped Cancer persons develop the most ex- traordinary attitudes on the numerous problems of life and relationships. Their sympathies do their thinking for them, and sentimental antipathies breed furious dislikes. Failure to orient in the intellectual sphere while living under the Gemini influence means a scattered existence under Cancer, with the

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thinking powers partly eclipsed by the hallucinations of the sentiments.

Leo is a positive sign, but is frequently a victim of the evils of the sign Cancer. Unbalanced Leo types frequently suffer from some form of obsession, a malady peculiar to the psychism of Cancer. The ob- session may range from a divinity complex to a highly aggravated infallibility complex. Leo people frequently feel that they are not as other mortals, that they are made by a special pattern, peculiarly endowed with semidivine attributes. Their profes- sions may vary, but whether they be evangelists or dictators, artists or financiers, they are overwhelmed with the impulse to reform. Cancer is a sign of parenthood and teaching, and Leo people feel that they are the fathers and teachers of all mankind.

Virgo is a negative sign and is, so to speak, the let-down from Leo. Virgo people very often find Leo circumstances thrust upon them and they are forced by conditions beyond their control into po- sitions of responsibility and leadership. The Virgo mind naturally seeks comfort, security and protec- tion, but is seldom privileged to enjoy either. It js a sign of responsibility and signifies the servant and the breadwinner. The sign of Leo is frequently as- sociated with monetary affairs, and the problems of Virgo are usually monetary ones. If Virgo inherits

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a good karma from its Leo past, then it may be placed in positions of responsibility and trust and become an administrator of power and authority. If the Leo person has trampled on others in his path to power, he is apt to find his Virgo incarna- tion one of hopeless limitation and financial reverse.

Libra is a positive sign and is regarded as one of the most artistic of the twelve. Though under the rulership of Venus, Libra manifests many tendencies of the Mercurial sign which precedes it. Libra fre- quently revolts against class limitation and rises to superiority usually from humble ancestry. In other words, it is a climbing sign. Two good examples of this climbing tendency of Libra are Napoleon Bona- parte and Adolph Hitler. Virgo symbolizes the pro- letariat, and the fundamental psychology of Libra is a struggle against mediocrity. From its Virgo background, the Libra type also secures the capacity to judge human nature. Libra types become public idols because of the ability to handle people. Their bad karma, however, frequently limits their capacity to remain in high position, and disaster follows honor.

Scorpio is a negative sign, yet in many ways it manifests a strength not always to be found in posi- tive signs. But, again, the course of the impulses is introverted. Scorpio's great problem is emotional control. The emotions of Scorpio are not derived

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from Mars, the ruler of the sign, but from the ac- cumulated karma of Libra, ruled by the emotional planet Venus. Libra signifies justice, and its symbol is the scales. But where bad karma has caused the Libra native to depart from standards of integrity, the distortion of the justice sense comes out in Scor- pio, where truth becomes involved in a thousand emotional reflexes and loses all semblance to in- tegrity. It is the bad karma of Scorpio to always know that it is right, whether it is right or not. It becomes its own standard of integrity. In a highly- advanced Scorpio, this sense of justice may be highly perfected and lead to great attainment in the oc- cult arts, but, in a less developed type, judgment is usually hopelessly biased by the intensities of the emotions.

Sagittarius is a positive sign and seems to delib- erately revolt against the introversions of Scorpio. The Sagittarian is a good organizer and promoter. He receives these qualities as a legacy from Scorpio, but he puts them to much more evident use. The Sagittarian is usually entirely open and aboveboard with his plans. This is a reaction from the Scorpio secretiveness. Sagittarius is a religious sign, which again is due to the strong emotional influence of Scorpio. Sagittarius is also the sign of long journeys on water, yet is not itself a water sign, but borrows

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its affinity to liquids from Scorpio. Sagittarians fre- quently engage in occupations of a Scorpio nature, as medicine, occultism, diplomacy, etc. The karmic tie between the two signs often manifests as dissipa- tion, which is a negative Scorpio weakness. Capricorn is a negative sign, though in many ways one of the strongest and most enduring of the twelve. In no sign is there more danger of introversion than in this one. The negative quality of the sign turns all the impulses back upon themselves and makes normal mental, emotional, and physical expression difficult. Yet Capricorn people are filled with the bubbling enthusiasm of Sagittarius. They are an in- dependent, ambitious, naturally progressive group of people, but their normal expression is made al- most impossible because of a peculiarly crystallized personality. The Capricorn person inherits from his Sagittarian incarnation high aspirations and widely scattered resources. The lesson of Capricorn is a moderating of all extremes of living. Most of all, the Capricorn native must master the impatience and inordinate ambition of the Sagittarian and settle down to an appreciation of reasonable and simple things. Capricorn people are often unhappy, not so much from the evils of their state, but from the comparison between their present position and some abstract standard toward which their ambitions are pointed. (43)

Aquarius is the last of the positive signs and in- herits from Capricorn a peculiar fixation of view- point in the midst of an otherwise almost complete inconsistency. Aquarius is termed the sign of the liberals, and from social reform to dietetics the Aquarian is apt to be found pointing out the ad- vantages of something new, and the hopeless dis- advantage of things as they arc. It may be said that Aquarians are born in the objective case. One that I know once referred to himself as one of the cranks that make the world go round. The sign is original and capable, and receives from Capricorn certain psychic undercurrents which strongly influence all of its activities. First it embodies the Capricorn tenacity of viewpoint, and at the same time it lives in a constant state of revolt against Capricorn conserva- tism and accepted institutions. From Capricorn, also, comes a definite strain of melancholia, and, like Capricornians, Aquarians have very few close friends. This is not because people do not like them, but be- cause they cannot penetrate the Aquarian aura of superindividuality. The Aquarians should try to over- come the Capricorn karma of isolation and try to mingle in a happy, genuine way with the numerous interests of mankind. Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac and is also a negative sign. As the 12th house rules karma par- ticularly, and Pisces is the 12th house sign and the

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last division of the zodiac, it has special karmic sig- nificance. Aquarius is the greatest energy-waster in the zodiac, because people born under that sign do not know how to relax. This waste is reflected in the debilities of the Piscean. Pisces also is complet- ing a cycle and gathering up the loose ends of in- carnations in the preceding eleven signs. The result is a heavy load of karma. When the karmic debt to the universe has been paid in the Pisces incarnation, the incarnating soul is then ready to start out afresh with a considerable part of karma sublimated into soul power.

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