The first thing I’d like to tell you about this section is to relax: you won’t need an ephemeris, graphing calculator, sextant, star chart, or any other such tools. As I mentioned in the introduction, you won’t be learning true astrology in this book: the only astrology you’ll need to know is the nature, character, disposition, and correspondences of the planets, signs, and houses of the Zodiac. There are many excellent authors who have written many excellent textbooks on astrology and I encourage you to read their work if you wish to learn divination. Astrology is the study of the stars and there are many forms of astrology from all over the world. Among the schools of astrology which have been formed are Arabic astrology; Chinese astrology; Vedic astrology; Amerindian astrology; Meso-American astrology; Australian aboriginal astrology; and the one which concerns us, Greek astrology.
Thousands of years ago, astrologers watched the skies for omens, portents, and signs. Kings wanted to know the best time to wage war; farmers the best time to sow crops; couples the best time to get marry; spouses the best time to conceive; architects the best time to begin new construction; and so on. As astrologers watched the skies and recorded their observations, they noticed that some of the lights in the sky were fixed in their position while other lights appeared smaller or larger and moved through the sky with the passage of the seasons. These heavenly bodies which moved were recognized as greater or more powerful influences in the lives of men and, with time, given the names by which we know them today. Ancient astrologers, lacking powerful telescopes and other scientific equipment we now enjoy, could not observe all of the planets in the heavens; thus, it was not until hundreds of years after the advent of established astrology that the outer planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were discovered.
The following chapters will introduce you to the planets of the Solar System; signs and houses of the Zodiac; their unique roles and qualities; their history and mythology; how they impact life on Earth; and which parts, processes, and properties of the human body each governs. The planets and signs of the Zodiac describe aspects of our personalities: even if a man is born under the sign of Taurus and may display her respective attributes more frequently, he is still a microcosm of the Solar System and has within him all the elements of creation in all their variations (Aries, Scorpio, Gemini, Taurus, etc.) When a subject is dis-eased, those parts of him which are most out of balance will manifest not only on the gross physical plane (in the body), but also on the subtle emotional and fine Spiritual planes. These dis-eases can be traced back to root causes in the astrological houses which are connected to those signs and planets analogous to his body.
A subject’s illness can be found in the corresponding planets and signs of the Zodiac at the lowest level as physical ailments or dis-ease. Illness can be found in the corresponding signs of the Zodiac at the mental and emotional level as bad moods, emotional upset, poor mental vitality, unhealthy attitudes, and weak moral fiber. More, the roots of illness can be traced back to the houses in which a sign is most at home; for example, if a person is complaining of frequent, chronic neck pain, he’s manifesting symptoms in Taurus which are caused by roots in Aquarius and the 11th House. Through proper identification of a person’s dis-ease, not only can the physical, mental, and emotional symptoms be addressed, but the root causes in a person’s life can also be resolved. The key to the healthful human condition lies in the proper balance of the elements of creation.
The last note I want to make before this chapter concludes is on the higher octaves and the re-assignment of the signs of the Zodiac. Before modern astronomy, the only planets which could be observed from Earth were the Sun, Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. These seven planets are called the inner planets and the personal planets. Ancient astrologers could not see the outer planets Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto, but with the discovery of the outer planets, astrologers found it necessary to examine both the roles of the new planets and the present rulers of the signs of the Zodiac.
The outer planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are the higher octaves or more refined and evolved aspects of Mercury, Venus, and Mars, respectively. Aquarius, previously ruled by Saturn, was assigned to Uranus. Pisces, previously ruled by Jupiter, was assigned to Neptune. Scorpio, previously ruled by Mars, was assigned to Pluto. Although these signs are now ruled by the outer planets, they still retain a connection, or secondary rulership, with their original planets. This will become important when we begin looking at the correspondences of the planets and the signs and houses of the Zodiac to the human body. For example, Mars rules blood, red blood cells, adrenaline, and sex drive, but the sexual organs themselves are ruled by Pluto through Scorpio who first belonged to Mars, the lower octave of Pluto. These and other unique relationships will become clearer as we move forward and will make much more sense in context after having been presented as a whole.
I divide the planets into three groups: the Greater and Lesser Luminaries; the Inner Planets, also called the Personal Planets; and the Outer Planets, also called the Higher Octaves. The Greater and Lesser Luminaries are the Sun and Moon, respectively. They are called such because they are illuminated or luminescent. The Moon does not actually emit light, but it’s understandable how early astrologers could make that mistake. Even though we know better today that Earth’s Moon doesn’t emit light, the name “luminary” is for traditional purposes still used. The inner planets are those planets which can be seen by the naked eye without the aid of a telescope: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. They are called the personal planets because when used in divinatory astrology are the planets which have the clearest and most immediate impact on our day-to-day lives.
The Outer Planets are those planets only recently discovered and which can’t be seen without the aid of a telescope: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The outer planets’ effects are more frequently measured on a large scale, thus the difference between the inner planets and the outer planets. In astrology, the planets which are farthest away from the Sun are the most powerful; why is that? Though I’m certain many people aren’t familiar with it anymore, you might remember such a thing as a record player. If you’re young enough that you’ve never seen a record player, you might be more familiar with the dual turn-tables used by disc-jockeys. Consider two points on a record: one close to the center another at the very edge. Both points travel the same speed but they do not travel the same distance. The inside point travels a shorter distance to make a single rotation, but the outside point must travel the entire circumference of the disc to make one rotation. Now compare Mercury and Pluto: Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, spends 88 days to complete its orbit. Pluto, on the other hand, is the planet farthest from the Sun and spends almost 250 years in orbit.
Quite a difference, wouldn’t you say? Because the outer planets spend more time to complete one orbit around the Sun, they spend significantly more time in each sign of the Zodiac. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto have such a massive influence that their effects are not measured so much on the individual person but instead on entire generations. Everybody remembers the turbulent 1960’s – peace rallies, hippies, free love, culture wars, actual wars, and the civil rights movement. For the first time in more than a hundred years, Pluto was conjunct Uranus. This led to sudden, erratic, innovative, and dramatic change on a broad scale affecting people all over the world. The effects of the outer planets are very powerful but because of their longer orbit are more subtle. Recall the last time you stood in the surf when the tide was going out: the surface Waters were quick and choppy, but when the waves rolled out you suddenly felt that massive pull of the surf flowing back to deeper Waters. That’s the outer planets: massive influence on a wide scale.
Integral to the instruction of Lightworking is that each planet is variously in rise, rest, detriment, or fall under certain signs of the Zodiac. This will be difficult to understand until you have become acquainted with each planet and sign of the Zodiac but will become clearer. What these descriptions mean is that some planets behave differently depending on where in the Zodiac they are found. The following descriptions are used to describe these changes in behavior:
- Rise: More active. This planet’s qualities or attributes are refined, evolved, or more pronounced in this sign. (equivalent to the Usui Reiki Master symbol)
- Rest: Normal. This planet’s qualities or attributes are functioning normally and are neither excessive nor lacking. (equivalent to the Usui Reiki Power symbol)
- Detriment: Weak. This planet’s qualities or attributes are functioning at reduced capacity, out of character, or are redirected to complementary outlets. (equivalent to the Usui Reiki Raku symbol)
- Fall: Distressed. This planet’s qualities and attributes are distorted or not functioning properly; its Spirit is blocked, not flowing correctly, or “fall-ing” apart. (equivalent to the Usui Reiki Release symbol.)
The significance of the rise, rest, detriment, and fall of the planets through the signs of the Zodiac will be explained in more detail as we learn about the Spiritual body and how Lightworking in context to astrology can effect a positive change. Until then, if you are unfamiliar with these descriptions, simply be aware that they exist and take notes: you’ll need to know this system later.
Although we are all born under one sign of the Zodiac (or two if born on the cusp), we contain within us the properties, character, attributes, desires, strengths, and weaknesses of all twelve signs of the Zodiac. When we are healthy, at ease, and welladjusted – physically and mentally – we typically demonstrate the favorable characteristics of the dominant signs within us. When dis-eased, the Mind and body both wane negative toward the less favorable traits of the signs and planets most affected.
As in all occult sciences, there is disagreement regarding the correspondence of the signs of the Zodiac and the planets of the Solar System. For example, the sacrum is reported by some to be exclusively ruled by Gemini, Sagittarius, or Scorpio. Others disagree on the attribution of the kidneys to Sagittarius and instead assign them to Gemini. Similar disagreements exist with other planets and signs. I tell you this not to criticize any other's interpretation but to highlight the fact that no system is perfect and disagreements and differences of opinion do exist. When in doubt, cast aside what you believe to be correct and follow your intuition: direct guidance from the Spirit is more important than artificial guidance from human systems.
Generally speaking, the planets of the Solar System are analogous to the higher order processes and functions and the major internal organs and key structures of the human body. The signs of the Zodiac are analogous to lower order process and functions and minor structures of the human body, and the Houses of the Zodiac represent the kingdoms in which the signs and planets principally reside. The following list illustrates the analogous correspondences of the signs and houses of the Zodiac and of the planets of the Solar System in relation to Spiritual, emotional, and physical health.
The human body, in its physical and Spiritual expressions, can be explained through a variety of systems, one of which being Western astrology. The microcosm mirrors the macrocosm, and the Solar System is reflected within the human body. Just as heavenly bodies move through the Solar System and influence daily affairs on Earth, so too do our bodies have places of special importance. There’s no great mystery to seeing these places of special importance: if you can see yourself in a mirror, then you are looking at universal life Spirit. Uranian Spirit flows from the crown and diaphragm; Mercurial Spirit from the brain; Plutonic Spirit from the brow; Jovial Spirit from the liver; Lunar Spirit from the stomach; Martial Spirit from the perineum; and Sanguine Spirit from the sacrum. What you see is what you get, and exercises to literally feel this Spirit in three dimensions with your very own hands are provided in the latter portion of this book.
The planets and signs of the Zodiac are the analogous rulers of the human body. As above, so below: just as the heavenly bodies move in their circles through the Solar System and by natural laws govern the variance and expression of life, so do their corresponding organs, tissues, nerves, processes, and properties govern our own bodies. Those principal organs are the chief sources of universal life Spirit in our bodies and like the planets they move in their proper order and pattern: balance is maintained by equal distribution of life Spirit and the unification of genders and opposing elements.
The human body is a microcosm of our Solar System and the astrological balance of the Heavens is mirrored within us. The four elements – Air, Fire, Water, and Earth – form our bodies. The intangible quintessence of THE ALL which animates all things is understood as “life Spirit.” Absent the fifth element of Spirit, none of the beautiful variations of life we know would exist: fish, birds, beasts, reptiles, insects, the infinite varieties of vegetation, microbes and bacteria, the largest whales to the tallest trees, and even the atom and molecule would have no animacy.
All life Spirit is maintained in a single balance. This single balance is the full or whole expression of life Spirit. It is the One, the Unity within which all exists. The Unity of Life expressed as a single balance is the fusion of Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and the Spirit which moves them to action. The whole is not the sum of its parts because only the four elements are expressed in this unity: the pervasive Spirit transcends matter and can be understood as the invisible glue which enables a finite perception of reality. Everything we know is One, held in the Mind of the THE ALL in whose infinite Mind everything is created. Everything which we can perceive, measure, name, classify, imagine, or learn is a thought already expressed on a higher plane of existence.
This Unity of Life can be arbitrarily divided in two pieces: the masculine and the feminine. The masculine and the feminine are the active and passive poles of the Unity of Life: they show such opposites as positive and negative, light and dark, plus and minus, yang and yin, extroverted and introverted, and male and female. To aid comprehension they are described as separate but are in truth one and the same. There is no sharp division between the two and each overlaps the other. The masculine is within the feminine, and the feminine is within the masculine. Nothing is strictly masculine or feminine and can never be totally removed from the Unity nor forced into an artificial dichotomy. The opposite poles of masculine and feminine illustrate the Hermetic Law of Gender which reveals the higher processes of creation and generation. Active and passive unify on a grand scale and their union produces the infinite variations we perceive as reality.
The arbitrary division of the Unity of Life into masculine and feminine repeats in each of the genders: the masculine pole is divided into Air and Fire, the feminine pole into Water and Earth. This division does not mean that masculine and feminine have a sharp and clear division, nor does it mean that the two are separate from one another. The masculine pole’s rulership includes female Air and male Fire, and the feminine pole’s rulership includes the male Water and female Earth. Taken as four parts, these are the Balances of the Elements: the Balance of Air; the Balance of Fire; the Balance of Water; and the Balance of Earth. Each gender has the other within itself and the division continues into the individual members of the Zodiac. Cardinal, fixed, and mutable signs of the Zodiac illustrate portions of the individual balances. Those signs which form a triplicity (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), are the lesser officers of a balance and the planets which rule them are the major officers who transmit universal life Spirit.
Because it is important and vitally necessary to the application of Lightworking, I will repeat this fact again many times: opposites are the same. You’ll notice immediately that Venus and Mercury are major powers in the Balances of both Air and Earth. Also consider that Aquarius, Pisces, and Scorpio all had rulers who resided outside their native Balances. Health and wellness are the outward manifestation of the Unity of Life, therefore the ultimate goal of Lightworking is to unify what we have arbitrarily divided. Dis-ease happens when the Mind and body are divided, even within themselves, and the cause of division must be reconciled in order to recover Unity. Pay attention to the relationship not just between masculine and feminine, Air and Earth, and Fire and Water, but also to the opposition between cardinal and mutable. The importance of the fixed signs and the reason for their own respective opposition will quickly become evident.
The signs of the Zodiac are constellations which communicate additional qualities and attributes the same way as the planets and are at home in one of the twelve respective houses of the Zodiac. To further illustrate the difference between the signs and houses of the Zodiac, a very short history lesson is in order. The signs of the Zodiac are constellations or groups of fixed stars which maintain their relative positions one to the other in the Heavens as seen from Earth. The Houses of the Zodiac, in contrast, are the divisions of the elliptical. The elliptical is the area of the sky through which the constellations and planets are seen as Earth travels in her orbit. The elliptical is 360° and is divided into twelve 30° houses. The houses, unlike the planets and signs, describe situations, events, circumstances, and concepts in our lives. Additionally, each sign of the Zodiac is at home in one House of the Zodiac. See the difference? The signs of the Zodiac are constellations of stars with fixed positions in the sky, while the Houses of the Zodiac are the twelve 30° divisions of the elliptical through which the signs of the Zodiac are seen.
There are twelve signs of the Zodiac and each is different from the other in several ways. The first way the signs of the Zodiac are differentiated is that they are given a particular element. The twelve signs of the Zodiac are divided into four triplicities of three signs from each element of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. The element of Air broadly governs intellect, intelligence, communication, and relationships. The Air signs are Libra, Aquarius, and Gemini. The element of Fire broadly governs intensity, vitality, and driving energy. It can also broadly govern challenge, pride, ego, and conflict. The Fire signs are Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. The element of Water broadly rules sensitivity, emotions, feelings, intuition, and the unconscious. Water also broadly rules love, compassion, sensitivity, loss, and emotions. The Water signs are Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. The element of Earth broadly rules industry, productivity, and stamina. It also broadly governs ambition, goals, and desires, as well as wealth and family (which I believe are the same), roles and responsibilities within a network, and networks themselves (such as families or businesses.) The Earth signs are Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo.
Next, each sign is given a polarity or gender: feminine and masculine, yin and yang, introverted and extroverted, minus and plus, and negative or positive. This is easy to remember: Air and Fire are masculine, and Water and Earth are feminine. Positive masculine elements are extroverted and expansive, negative feminine elements are introverted and contractive.
Last, the signs of the Zodiac are assigned one of three modalities: cardinal, fixed, or mutable. These three modalities describe how the element to which it is attached moves or functions. Cardinal signs are enterprising and get things started but aren’t famous for being patient or taking it slow. Cardinal signs are Libra, Aries, Cancer, and Capricorn. Fixed signs consolidate progress and cement things in place. They are an anchor to the people around them and work to maintain stability. The fixed signs are Aquarius, Leo, Scorpio, and Taurus. Mutable signs change with their surroundings and rebound easy. The mutable signs are Gemini, Sagittarius, Pisces, and Virgo. With respect to friendship, neutrality, and enmity, cardinal signs oppose mutable signs, and fixed signs oppose fixed signs of contrary elements.
Each element is friendly to its own element, or in other words, agrees with itself. Air agrees with Air, Fire with Fire, Water with Water, and Earth with Earth. Each element is complemented by its respective active or passive half: passive masculine Air and active masculine Fire complement each other; and active feminine Water complements passive feminine Earth. Each element is neutral to another element: Passive masculine Air and active feminine Water share neutrality, as do active masculine Fire and passive feminine Earth. Neutral elements have neither positive nor negative effects on the other. Each element is opposed to another element: passive masculine Air and passive feminine Earth share opposition, as do active masculine Fire and active feminine Water.
Through use of a simple four-square, you can lay out the elements and easily see their relations one to the other. Air and Fire are active and rise above the passive Water and Earth. Each element agrees with its own quadrant. Complementary elements appear on the left or right, neutral elements are aligned vertically, and opposing elements are positioned at a diagonal one to the other. Consider the following diagram:
So much information can be imposing at first, but you can quickly learn the order, polarity, element, and modality of the signs of the Zodiac with the following list. It begins with Aries and alternates polarity, element, and modality with each following sign:
- Aries: cardinal masculine fire
- Taurus: fixed feminine earth
- Gemini: mutable masculine air
- Cancer: cardinal feminine water
- Leo: fixed masculine fire
- Virgo: mutable feminine earth
- Libra: cardinal masculine air
- Scorpio: fixed feminine water
- Sagittarius: mutable masculine fire
- Capricorn: cardinal feminine earth
- Aquarius: fixed masculine air
- Pisces: mutable feminine water
In the following five chapters, the anatomical and astrological review of the planets is not in the order of the Solar System, but of the human body. Instead of ordering the planets from the Sun to Pluto, I’ve ordered them from the crown to the sacrum; in other words, from the top of the head to the bottom of the spine. The three pairs of Higher-Lower octave planets are first (Uranus-Merucury; Pluto-Mars; and VenusNeptune); the Greater and Lesser Luminaries second (Sun and Moon); and the Supply and Demand last (Jupiter and Saturn.) Following the review of the planets, the respective Balances of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth will be introduced and are ordered from finest to grossest.
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