The Great Bear Maureen Temple Richmond

Spring 2020

The Great Bear, when rightly known, confers the bliss which arises from universal identification with all energies, and an inner realization of existence beyond time and space. ~MTR

Abstract this constellation might legitimately be said to hold absolute pride of place in the occult cos- s students of the Alice Bailey teachings mology. A know, the constellation of the Great Bear is often mentioned by the Tibetan in his discus- Perhaps the first and foremost reason for the sions of esoteric cosmology and astrology. The prime importance of this constellation is the po- Great Bear is but one of many celestial factors sition it is said to hold in the body of the Cosmic with which students should be familiar for a Logos. According to the esoteric astrological greater understanding of A Treatise on Cosmic doctrine revealed by the Tibetan, the seven well Fire and Esoteric Astrology. Yet, the Great Bear known and visible stars of the Great Bear are stands out from others in the starry field of the the outward manifestations of the seven head galaxy, functioning for our solar system in an centers contained in the body of the Cosmic 2 unparalleled way. Examining the nature of the Logos. In keeping with this directive position, Great Bear from the esoteric perspective, this these seven stars of the Great Bear function for study proceeds to explain why that’s so. The ex- our solar system as the monad does for the indi- 3 ploration of the Great Bear moves through a vidual human being, thus rendering the Great consideration of the leading role played by the Bear an embodiment of the “microcosmic abso- Great Bear, the Great Bear as an agent of the lute” for our Solar Logos. Will, the occult effects of the Great Bear, the Seen from a slightly different angle, the Great mythology of the Great Bear around the world, Bear fills yet another role in regard to our Solar the astrological intermediaries of the Great Logos. According to the Tibetan, the Great Bear Bear, and the Great Bear in regard to higher is a member of a group of three stellar factors stages of evolution. The study concludes with a that go to make up what he calls the Spiritual summary of the twenty-five essential points Triad of our Solar Logos.4 These three stellar made throughout the discussion, all of which factors are the Great Bear, Sirius, and the serve to explain why this polar constellation holds such pride of place in the esoteric teach- ______ing and how it has been revered around the About the Author globe throughout time. Maureen Temple Richmond is a lifelong astrolo- The Leading Role Played by ger and esotericist known for her scholarly study ti- tled Sirius, a comprehensive examination of the the Great Bear teaching on that great star as revealed in the works titan of the north polar region, the constel- of Alice Bailey. Author of numerous essays, poetry, A lation of the Great Bear plays an im- and fiction, Richmond holds a M.A. in English and mensely important role in the life processes of Creative Writing from SNHU, and is currently work- the manifested universe of which our solar sys- ing on a Ph.D. program in Heritage Studies at Arkan- sas State University where she now makes her home. tem is a small part. Known as the Big Dipper to 1 A counseling astrologer, Richmond advises Anglo- the public, Ursa Major to astronomers, and the phone clients around the world. She can be reached Great Bear to students of the Ageless Wisdom, at: [email protected].

Pleiades—the three constellations which the Ti- seven ray energies. Thus, these are the energies betan referred to as “the three major condition- which pour forth cyclically from the “conditioning constellations”5 for their essential role in ing constellations” into the evolutionary enter- ushering into our system the energies of the prise of our Solar Logos, and they do so specif- Three Rays of Aspect, the basic building blocks ically through the central agency of the Great of all evolutionary manifestation.6 In keeping Bear. with the primal nature of this group of stellar For all these reasons, the Tibetan referred to the factors, the triangle of Great Bear, Sirius, and Great Bear as: the Pleiades also functions as the Spiritual Triad, or atma-buddhi-manas, of our Solar 1) the Superior Constellation15 (due to its de- Logos, translating the Divine Will from on high termining influence in all things), and into energies and drives which can be imple- 2) the prototype of all subsequent septe- mented in our solar system. Seen from this nates16 in its role as the inlet for the seven view, the Great Bear appears as the atmic ves- ray energies. ture of our Solar Logos. Accordingly, the Ti- betan indicated that the influence of this group, As is apparent, there is none higher in regard to including the Great Bear, is “dominant in con- our system than the Great Bear. 7 nection with solar incarnational evolution.” Perhaps in keeping with the dominant and ubiq- Through this pivotal group of stellar factors uitous influence exercised by the Great Bear there course mighty energies which impulse the upon our solar system, this constellation is con- various stages of evolution in our solar system.8 tinuously visible at night from almost all parts The Great Bear itself plays an important role in of our planet,17 the watchful Bear ever vigilant this regard, being specifically the entry point and engaged as far as our globe is concerned. 9 into our solar system for all seven ray energies, Though the Bear gazes down on our globe from each visible star in that constellation acting as its position near the north celestial pole with an an energy distribution point for one of the seven 10 admirable constancy, our view of this great star rays. In this way, each of the seven visible Ur- grouping changes throughout the year. The long sine stars is also the prototype for one of the 11 tail of the Bear (or the handle of the Dipper) Planetary Logoi in our system, who are em- seems to point in different directions at the four bodiments of the very Rays themselves. Ac- seasonal points of the year, a fact reflecting the cording to the Tibetan, the stellar counterpart of different views of the sky which the seasons af- each Planetary Logos functions as the Monad of ford.18 Thus, to the casual naked eye observer, that entity, so that each of the seven visible stars the orientation of the Great Bear can be shock- of the Great Bear is to a Planetary Logos as the ingly different than expected. Monad is to the human being.12 Though individ- ually for each star this is so, collectively the Further, the Great Bear is a great deal more than seven visible stars of the Great Bear function as it appears to be, encompassing well over 200 the Monad of the Solar Logos. In both cases, stars beyond the familiar and visible seven.19 the prime nature of the Great Bear is confirmed. Yet these seven are of arch importance to the esoteric cosmology. In fact, just one of these Thus, there is much meaning behind the notion seven stars plays such an immense role in the that “the seven stars of the Great Bear are the distribution of cosmic energies as to defy ready originating sources of the seven rays of our so- 13 comprehension. According to the esoteric as- lar system.” Though this last statement may trological and cosmological doctrine as given seem to contradict the notion that the rays have by the Tibetan, a single star within the Great their rise in the seven solar systems of which Bear has the considerable distinction of bring- ours is one, there is likely no real conflict, but 14 ing forth into our system energies which origi- rather a difference of perspective. nated in the Central Spiritual Sun. These ener- At any rate, it is evident from this statement on gies pass from the Central Spiritual Sun, to the the role of the Great Bear that the Tibetan con- “Conditioning Constellations,” (that is, the sidered this constellation the prime inlet for the Great Bear, Sirius, and the Pleiades), and finally

16 Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly, 2020. Spring 2020 are relayed to one particular star of the seven represents the Divine Will itself. Thus, to well known stars making up the Great Bear.20 properly appreciate the nature and influence of the Great Bear, an understanding of what the Ti- The energies which thus come forth from this betan called the Will is necessary. one star of the Great Bear are the origin of all that is visible and objective. Then, the further Identifying the Will Aspect as cause itself,25 the work of creating manifested form is accom- Tibetan characterized Divine or Cosmic will as plished by a group of deva lives who have their electricity on the first or logoic plane, the origi- source in this same star of the Great Bear and nal force which brings about the objective uni- who transmit the intention of Deity through verse,26 the dynamic electrical energy of Life it- sound or word into the matter of our systemic self, or of embodied Purpose,27 and “divine pur- mental, astral, and physical planes, or the three pose, latent in the Mind of God since the begin- worlds of human endeavor.21 Though the iden- ning of time and the dawn of creation.28 Addi- tity of this immensely powerful star is not di- tionally, the Tibetan Master called the First or vulged, the general impression imparted is Will Aspect by the names Abstract Being, again that of a truly sublime role for the Great Darkness, and Unity.29 More specifically, he Bear and its components. In fact, it might said, the Will is “that initial impulse or vibration simply be stated that the Great Bear is of signal which emanates from the logoic causal body on importance because it is a channel for the distri- the cosmic mental plane.”30 The Great Bear in- bution of energies from the Central Spiritual troduces all these elements into our solar sys- Sun. tem, for it is a prime distributing agent for the Will. Thus, as prime distributor of the energies of manifestation, the Great Bear is certainly a lead- However, the exact nature of Divine or Cosmic ing factor among stellar influences. Being first Will is beyond the reach of ordinary human amongst others and leading the way is a First comprehension, according to the Tibetan. In his Aspect, Ray One characteristic. As is evident words, “The nature of the will is as yet undefin- from the location of the Great Bear in the Cos- able for only the Monad responds to its impact, mic Logoic Head center, its role as the monad and only after the third initiation does man of our Solar Logos, and as a channel for distri- somewhat grasp the nature of the will.”31 bution of energies from the Central Spiritual In this, the Tibetan offered an important key to Sun, the Great Bear as a leading influence ful- the nature of the Will. If only Monadic aware- fills a First Aspect or Ray One function. ness can fully appreciate the Will, then Monadic Indeed, this is precisely what the Tibetan has in- being (certainly a Ray One correlate) must be dicated about the Great Bear, characterizing the like unto the Will, at least in some degree. Of Great Bear as representative of the Father (or importance here is the fact that Monadic aware- First) Aspect,22 and as a point of reception and ness was characterized by the Tibetan as a state distribution for Ray One energies.23 Hence, the of spiritual bliss. Bliss, the Tibetan said, results Great Bear as a whole emits Ray One influence, from the monad’s natural state of universal which according to the esoteric occult doctrine, identification with all energies and the realiza- confers a number of important characteristics, tion of existence beyond time and space.32 including courage, executive ability, and the In this definition, the Tibetan has offered an im- 24 power to rule and lead — all Ray One charac- portant clue to not only the nature of the Monad, teristics which, as shall shortly be shown, have but also of its purview, the Will, for if only the even been reflected in the world’s exoteric my- Monad can know Will, and the Monad’s natural thology concerning this constellation. state is bliss, then bliss must be inherently asso- The Great Bear as an ciated with perception of the Will. Agent of the Will To state this proposition even more simply and in a formulaic fashion, it might be said that, at n that the Great Bear is a representative of least for the human mind, Will is the bliss which I Ray One, the Ray of Will and Power, it also arises from a universal identification with all

Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly 17 The Esoteric Quarterly energies and an inner realization of existence According to the esoteric occult doctrine, this beyond time and space. Hence, this is the nature Will from on high descends to the waiting of the influence arising from the Great Bear, it- worlds of form below through a number of ce- self an agent of the Will, of the First Aspect, and lestial agents or intermediaries, key among of Ray One energies. Thus it can be said that the them the seven rays, originating in the seven Great Bear, when rightly known, confers “the centers of the Cosmic Logos, or The One About bliss which arises from universal identification Whom Naught may Be Said. From these cen- with all energies and an ters, which are com- inner realization of exist- As is evident from the location posed of groups of Solar ence beyond time and of the Great Bear in the Cos- Logoi or star lives, there space.” mic Logoic Head center, its stream the rays, the rays in turn being ensouled However, since most of role as the monad of our Solar Humanity is far behind by the Seven Ray Lords, the grade of Third Degree Logos, and as a channel for called by the Tibetan the Initiate, and hence operat- the distribution of energies custodians of the Will ing with virtually no con- Aspect of Deity for our from the Central Spiritual 40 scious Monadic linkage, solar system. That the this blissful Cosmic Will Sun, the Great Bear as a lead- seven rays are all essen- emanated by the Great ing influence fulfills a First tially Will cannot be Bear goes largely unrec- doubted, for the Tibetan ognized. Such perception Aspect or Ray One function. made a definite point of presenting the rays in will not accrue to the bulk of Humanity until the just this manner in the final pages of Bailey’s final root race, when the nature of Cosmic Will 41 or Purpose shall constitute the ultimate spiritual Esoteric Astrology. revelation, according to the Tibetan. 33 Hence, as Having their origin (as far as our solar system is he said, the widespread registration of Cosmic concerned) in the centers of the Cosmic Logos, Will or Purpose by Humanity “lies a very long the seven rays then pour into the stars of the way ahead of our present point in evolution.”34 constellation under consideration in this sec- In the meantime, only the effect of the Will can tion, the Great Bear. Through the seven major be known,35 and this effect takes the form of the stars of the Great Bear, the rays subsequently Hierarchical Plan,36 which the Tibetan said is stream forth toward our Solar Logos and its sys- none other than substance of the higher planes tem, bringing all lives consequently contacted 37 increasingly into line with the Will Aspect of impregnated with the energy of Will. Of 42 course, the Will or Power Aspect of Deity is for- Deity, for the Great Bear is the unparalleled ever branded in the brain matter of esoteric stu- source of Will, Purpose, and Power for our re- dents as the Ray of the Destroyer, the Shiva gion of the manifested universe. From this stu- component of the three fundamental aspects of pendous source—the Great Bear— emanate all Deity. Indeed, the act of necessary destruction the ray powers which feed the zodiacal and characterizes the Will, for as the Tibetan indi- planetary influences to be experienced from the cated, Will destroys anything hindering the free vantage point of our planet. As a consequence, flow of evolution.38 all astrological influences are in fact vehicles by which Will is transmitted into our system and Whether Will is manifesting as cause, purpose, planet.43 The Tibetan made this point inescapa- Monadic awareness, the sense of the infinite, or bly evident when he stated that all zodiacal in- necessary destructions and eliminations, its ef- fluences are intended to evoke the emergence of fects descend from higher levels to the waiting the Will Aspect in all units contacted, including form below, “bending forms consciously to di- Planetary Logoi, monads, souls, and personali- 39 vine purpose.” Hence, Will is that inescapable ties.44 transcendent drive which powers the movement of all within and toward the One.

Once these Will energies reach our planet, they Occult Effects of the then course through the kingdoms of our planet Great Bear via earthly agents of the Will, the first among these being the representative on our globe of o determinative is the influence of the Great the Planetary Logos of our scheme, Sanat Ku- S Bear upon our solar system that the very mara. According to the Tibetan, Will or Purpose thoughtform underlying the existence of our enters our planetary life as “…the synthetic system is shaped by emanations of the Great thought which pours into the supernal con- Bear, together with those of six other stellar fac- sciousness of the Lord of the World.…”45 From tors of equal stature.52 Undoubtedly, these seven thence, Will energies make their way through a stellar factors are the very ones said to make up triangle composed of the head of the First Ray the body of manifestation of the Cosmic Logos division of the Hierarchy known as the Manu, (or possibly of the Super Cosmic Logos). The the Christ, and the head of the Third Ray divi- combined purposeful focus and meditation of sion of the Hierarchy, or the Mahachohan, and the entities indwelling these seven factors af- thence to the united ashrams of the Hierarchy.46 fects the nature and quality of our system. In Ultimately, these Will energies filter down to other words, as they think upon their objectives the level of the individual, who is, as the Tibetan and purposes, great manasic waves ripple out- said, governed by Will and Purpose flowing in ward, affecting the matter of many planes and from higher levels, particularly the Will of the bringing into existence those specific forms that Solar Logos as it works through the Will of our will achieve the desired ends. 47 Planetary Logos. According to the Tibetan, two stars in the Great Finally, at ground level quite literally, Will en- Bear are even more influential in this regard ergies are transferred to the crust of the Earth by than the others. It is the stars (or the Rishis53 as the Agnichaitans, fiery devic lives of the min- the Tibetan called them) in the Great Bear that eral world governed by the First Ray depart- receive and distribute the energies of Rays Five ment of the Hierarchy, under the direction of the and Seven which have the greatest involvement Manu.48 It is through the agency of the Ag- in the creation of the thoughtform upon which nichaitans that the face of the planet is geologi- our solar system is built.54 Given that Ray Five cally changed, continents raised, and volcanoes concerns the distillation of abstract thought into fueled.49 According to the Tibetan, the dramatic definite thoughtforms, and that Ray Seven con- expression of the Ray of Will and Power cerns the condensation of spirit into matter, this demonstrating through such geological forces is enhanced role for the specified (though un- a consequence of the fact that the main potency named) stars only makes sense. of the First Ray is to be found in the mineral 50 Emanatory effects from the Great Bear affect kingdom. In the final analysis, our entire our solar system in a number of ways, in fact. planet right down to rock acts as an agent of Along with helping to shape the very thought- Will, for as the Tibetan stated, the purpose for form upon which our system is designed, influ- which Earth exists is the manifestation of the 51 ences from the Great Bear also play a role in de- Will of God. termining the time cycles at work in our sys- Thus, from the Cosmic Logos and the Great tem.55 This is so because the Great Bear is one Bear on high, right down to the very mineral of the centers of a Greater Being in whom our substance of which our physical globe is com- small system finds place, and it is the life cycles posed, the Will permeates and conditions all. In of this Greater Being which determine the times this process, the Great Bear plays a crucial role, of manifestation and obscuration of those minor functioning as the prime inlet and distribution lives who dwell within its body of expression. point at which the Will translates itself from di- As the life cycles of this Greater Being are reg- mensions beyond time and space into the seven istered in its higher centers, they then work ray influences, which in turn drive and color all downward to influence all the remaining cen- cyclic evolutionary developments in our portion ters, in one of which our solar system finds of the manifested universe. place.

The fact that the Great Bear has such influence Just as likely were ancient peoples to picture upon the time cycles operative in our solar sys- this polar star grouping as a bear figure,61 tem is also related to the role of the seven rays, though many groups saw this constellation as which find their way to our system via the seven other animals, people, or objects. For example, visible stars of the Great Bear. This, because the the ancient Aztecs and Mayas perceived this seven ray powers are the key mechanism by grouping in the shape of a bird native to their which the general cosmic principle of periodic- region (the macaw parrot), while the western Si- ity is transformed into specific phases, such as berians saw it as a stag, and the ancient Egyp- life periods of solar and planetary logoi, rounds, tians as the thigh and leg of a bull. races, and sub-races. The Northern Caucasia of Eurasia saw these Cyclic evolutionary impulses also issue forth seven stars as seven brothers, while their South- from the Great Bear in the form of Avatars, or ern Buryat counterparts called them the seven unique embodiments of spiritual potency which blacksmiths, the seven skulls of these black- take various types of physical form in order to smiths, and seven old men. The neighboring Si- significantly accelerate forward spiritual mo- berian Khirgiz saw in these same stars seven mentum in some part of the manifested worlds. watchmen guarding the other circumpolar stars, According to the Tibetan, the Great Bear is a while the nearby Mongols referred to this con- source of such beings, their points of emanation stellation quite oppositely as seven thieves, being specifically those of the seven visible Ur- though they also called them seven old men. To sine stars which receive and distribute Rays the Blackfoot Native Americans of Montana, Three56 and Seven.57 These Avatars are said to they were the seven sons of the Sun and the gain entry into our solar system through a trian- Moon, or seven brothers being pursued by a gle of cosmic factors, these factors being the bear. The Chumash of California knew them as Great Bear, the combined energies of the seven seven boys, transformed into seven geese. rays, and our Solar Logos.58 Such Avatars are, The ancient Romans conceptualized the seven according to the esoteric doctrine, related to the stars of what we now call the Great Bear as Seventh Cosmic Path,59 the workers upon which seven oxen in harness, ploughing concentric are likely engaged in efforts to bring the non- furrows in the celestial field around the north sacred planets to sacred status through the ap- pole of the sky. Similarly, the early English peo- plication of the pure ray energies issued forth ples thought this star grouping resembled a from the seven visible stars of the Great Bear. wagon, or “wain” as they called it, as did many The Mythology of the Great in other European countries. Over in the Amer- Bear Around the World icas, the Skidi Pawnee saw in these stars a related figure, interpreting this star grouping to be he septenary nature of the Great Bear hails a stretcher upon which a sick man was carried. T not only from esoteric occult philosophy, And the Ajumawi band of Pit River Indians in but also from native peoples and ancient cul- northeastern California saw in the Great Bear tures the world around. Almost universally, what they called the World’s Cane, a hooked those who gazed in awe at the night sky to per- implement which in their mythology was ceive their great ancestral and spiritual beings thought to be instrumental in establishing the were equally inclined to see seven stellar enti- very order and structure of the sky and therefore ties in what is now called the Great Bear. Spe- of all creation.62 cifically, among the ancient Romans and Egyp- As is clear, the Wagon, the Plough, and the tians, the South American Aztecs, the North Crane all represent shapes reminiscent of what American Blackfoot of Montana, the Chumash we now think of as the Big Dipper, while the of California, and in Eurasia, the Siberian Bur- circular ploughing of the polar oxen reflects the yats and the Northern Caucasia, this star group- way the Great Bear seems to rotate in space as ing was perceived to be composed of seven dis- the view of it changes throughout the night. tinct star beings.60

Just as the Pawnee felt that World’s Cane was so in the case of the Great Bear, called by cer- the central pivot around which the heavens tain of the ancient Greeks with a name quite ap- turned, so also has this polar star grouping been propriate to its now revealed occult function. right at the center of other ethnic cosmologies. The importance of the Great Bear in antiquity This has been so throughout time because the might be suggested by the fact that ancient star Great Bear occupies a northerly position, north catalogues began with this constellation and its being a direction of definite distinction for sev- nearby polar companion, the Little Bear,68 no eral of the world’s peoples. Further, the differ- doubt because these two star groupings were ent orientations of this star grouping throughout poised so strikingly in the northern sky.69 Orig- the night can be used as an indicator of the sea- inally conceptualized (for the west) in approxi- son by those who are intimately familiar with mately the fifth century B.C.E by the Greek phi- the night sky.63 Consequently, the stars of what losopher and mathematician Thales,70 the Great is now called the Great Bear have for eons been Bear was widely thought in antiquity to be the emblematic of regular cycles and the continu- ultimate source of time and created form,71 a ous forward march of unfolding of time.64 theme imminently compatible with its esoteric In honor of this fact, the ancient Greeks at one function as prime distributor of the energies of time named this constellation “The Curved or manifestation. Legend has it that Pythagoras re- Spiral One,” both for its dipper-like shape and ferred to the Greater and Lesser Bears as the because it ever turns round and round the celes- “two hands of the Genitrix,”72 in other words, tial north pole.65 Beyond the obvious and im- the agents which accomplish the manifested portant reference to eternity and cyclic renewal work of the Great Maker, or Cosmic Creator. implied in this characterization of the Great Here is a remarkable parallel to the much later Bear stars, there is also a significant esoteric esoteric description of the seven stars of the correlate connected with the notion of the spiral. Great Bear as the “Progenitors,” or givers of life According to the Tibetan, spiral activity or mo- to all,73 and yet another example of the funda- tion is the “Shiva” form of motion,66 as he called mental position held by the Great Bear in vari- it. Since the Tibetan used the Hindu Shiva to de- ous world cosmologies. nominate the First Aspect, this means that the The Great Bear was similarly important in an- Tibetan meant to say that spiral motion is an ex- cient Egypt, though there it was pictured as The pression of the First Aspect, Ray One, and the Bull’s Thigh. Still, it was a curved, dipper-like Will—the very qualities said to characterize the bunch of stars that spun eternally round the Great Bear itself. northern celestial pole. Because this star group- Thus, as is readily apparent, even the ancient ing was ever visible in the night sky, the ancient Greeks rightly intuited the esoteric and occult Egyptian religion associated it with everlasting- nature of the Great Bear, for they associated the ness, or immortality.74 The shape of this con- Ray One spiral form of motion with the stars of stellation (or possibly that of nearby and similar this grouping. Only a little imagination is re- Ursa Minor) was accordingly reproduced in the quired to see that, to the circling motion of the design of a funerary ritual implement75 used to seven stars around the celestial pole, the Greek liberate the consciousness of the deceased from mind coupled the idea of forward motion along the physical body, that the spirit might ascend a celestial axis. In this fashion, they might have to the stars.76 imagined the circling motion of the Ursine stars The stars as links to the spiritual world was a carried onward in space, thus producing the spi- notion likewise embraced by Vedic India, the ral form. So close were the Greeks in their con- astronomical traditions of which asserted that ception to the later esoteric characterization of creation emanated from the stars77 long before the Great Bear that justification is suggested for contemporary astrophysics confirmed as much the Tibetan’s statement, “There is more real oc- through its various technological advantages. cultism hidden in the names given to the various The seven stars of the greater Ursine constella- stars by astronomers down the ages than has yet 67 tion were known to the Vedic tradition in the been realised….” This appears to have been Sanskrit language as the Saptarishi,78 or Seven

(sapta) Sages (rishis), and this name for the emanated from the “seven rishis” of the Great stars of the Great Bear was used by the Tibetan Bear. She apparently even used this term (the as well, who referred to them frequently as the seven rishis) to indicate the seven planetary lo- “Seven Rishis,”79 as did Blavatsky.80 goi.89 All the same, Blavatsky certainly acknowledged the existence of highly evolved According to Blavatsky, the Sanskrit word “ri- human adepts also called “rishis,” recounting shi” in general means a spiritual adept or an in- the hallowed legend spired one, but in partic- that such beings do in ular within the context The view of the Great Bear of- fact exist and that they of Vedic literature, this fered by the esoteric occult phi- can be found to live at term denotes distin- extreme altitudes in the guished spiritual per- losophy of the Tibetan Master Himalayan Moun- sonages through whom and Alice Bailey presents this tains.90 Blavatsky even the various sacred man- polar constellation as the foun- intimated that these tras of the Vedic tradi- spiritual adepts who tion were revealed.81 tainhead of powers and energies dwell in the sacred Again highlighting the driving the evolution of our own fastnesses of the Hima- spiritual mastery and Solar Logos, and hence, actuat- layas are in fact the science of sound at- members of the Plane- tributed to the Rishis, ing all the life forms throughout tary Hierarchy, them- Blavatsky further com- his body of expression in the selves the descendants mented that the Sanskrit of the Rishis of the Ve- word rishi literally planetary schemes, chains, dic tradition.91 translated means globes, rounds, and races. Whether terrestrial or “bard,” “singer,” celestial, the concept of the seven rishis remains “walker,” and “guide,” terms indicative of one firmly tied to the esoteric perspective. who walks ahead and leads others through the power of sound or music, rishi being derived Thus, the popular Hindu belief that human evo- from a root word meaning “to march ahead.”82 lution had its rise in the existence of seven Further, Blavatsky stated that the term rishi can founding fathers who are representative of or refer to the original founders of the Vedic reli- linked with the seven stars of the Great Bear gion,83 as well as to the leaders of early tribal emerges as yet another significant instance of groupings in India.84 Popular Hindu tradition agreement between exoteric myth or religion holds that there were seven such Rishis consid- and esoteric truth. Just how closely this parallel ered the ancestors of Humanity, and who are runs can be seen in the fact that the Bri- linked with the seven stars of what the west calls hadaranyaka Upanishad refers to the seven the Great Bear.85 This tradition, which associ- stars of the constellation Saptarishi (Seven Ri- ates the original seven rishis with the seven stars shis, or Great Bear) as the seven sense organs of of the Great Bear, has its roots in the ancient Rig the face of the cosmic person.92 Thus, while the Veda.86 esoteric occult teaching places the seven visible stars of the Great Bear in the head center of a Separating the two possible usages of the term Cosmic (or possibly Super Cosmic) Logos, the “rishi,” Blavatsky emphatically pointed out the tradition spawned by the Rig Veda places the difference between the terrestrial Rishis, on one same stars on the “face” of a “Cosmic Person.” hand, who founded the Vedic religion, and the The difference between “head” and “face” is so intelligences indwelling the stars of the Great little as to be insignificant in this context. Vir- Bear on the other.87 Blavatsky undoubtedly un- tually the same message is given by both char- derstood the “Seven Ancient Rishis” in the acterizations. Both see the seven stars of this more cosmological sense, calling them “the pro- particular constellational grouping as posi- genitors of all that lives and breathes on tioned in such a way as to represent the menta- earth,”88 a description certainly in keeping with tion of a great being, cosmic in scope. the role of the essential seven ray powers

Other world cosmological views have likewise transportation for the ruling elite, perceiving reflected the leading, head center role attributed this star grouping as a vehicle for the Emperor to the Great Bear. In fact, many cultures and of Heaven or for a high government official.103 civilizations have associated this constellation Thus, whether the seven Ursine stars were seen with the notion of governance, leadership, and as vehicles for power figures or as the power authority,93 or the situation of being “at the figures themselves, this star grouping has head” of a group or enterprise. throughout time been imputed by the world’s For example, the Zoroastrian religion envi- people’s to represent leadership, ruling capac- sioned the stars of the Great Bear as a sort of ity, the power of government, and executive po- divine military leader, a general in the army of sition.104 These are the very characteristics said the supreme God.94 The ancient Egyptians like- by the esoteric tradition to characterize Ray wise focused upon the governance angle and as- One, the Ray of Will and Power, which is asso- sociated the stars of this constellation with roy- ciated with the division of Hierarchy that guides alty.95 So also did the ancient Chinese, who saw the way to right principles of governance and the Great Bear stars as a celestial emperor, the which ray is distributed by the Great Bear. Lord of the Dark Heaven and the Spirit of the In much more modern times, the emblem of the North.96 Close by, the Altaic Tartars of South- Great Bear has similarly played a significant ern Siberia saw in this constellation seven role in the Ray One matter of right governance khans, or tribal chieftains.97 From even this and self-determination. In the 1860s during the brief but suggestive list, the linkage of the Great American Civil War, the “Big Dipper,” (or Bear stars with roles of governance and leader- “Gourd,” as it is also called) became a celestial ship is evident. However, there is more. symbol of freedom to the southern slaves seek- As it turns out, the Great Bear was linked in the ing asylum north of the Mason-Dixon line,105 minds of peoples throughout the globe with which at that time divided the United States their national and cultural heroes. Many of these from the rebel southern states. If an indentured epic figures were said to ride in the stars of the “servant” could pass north of the Mason-Dixon Great Bear as though it were a mode of convey- Line, he or she automatically became a free ance. In ancient Britain, it was King Arthur who American citizen, unshackled from the tor- was said to ride in the seven stars of the Great turous indignities of forced labor. Bear, perceived by the peoples then as a wagon, Travelling surreptitiously by night and under or “wain;” hence to them the Great Bear was the stars to evade the murderous grasp of irate known as “Arthur’s Wain” and “Arthur’s Char- whites, the men and women of African descent iot.”98 Some have even thought that Arthur’s had only the stars of the Great Bear to lead them Round Table was an allusion to the circuit of the dependably northward in their bid for every- Great Bear round and round the pole, seeming thing all people hold dear. Thus, they were ad- to mark out a flat, circle-shaped surface as it monished by their supporters to “Follow the goes.99 Gourd,” or in other words, to proceed north in In nearby Ireland, the Great Bear was called the direction of the Big Dipper, that they might King David’s Chariot, in honor of an early Irish drink of the waters of personal and political ruler.100 Across the English Channel, the early freedom. They were literally to head toward the French attached their beloved Charlemagne to starry representative of Ray One, the Great Bear the wagon-shaped polar constellation, and as a constellation, embodying the Ray One charac- result, the neighboring Teutons called this con- teristics of right governance, autonomy, and lib- stellation Karlwagen (Charles’ Wagon).101 Not erty from all that impedes forward evolution, in far away, the Danes, Swedes, and Icelanders re- their struggle for self- determination.106 In this sponded with Stori Vagn (Great Wagon), example lies a convincing justification for the Odin’s Wagon, and Karl’s Vagn, Karl being yet Tibetan’s statement that more real occultism is another name for Thor, a great Nordic god.102 hidden in popular conceptions of the stars107 Half a world away, the early Chinese likewise than has been previously thought, for here is to saw the Great Bear stars as a mode of

Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly 23 The Esoteric Quarterly be seen a direct correlation between the exoteric increasingly into line with the Will of the and esoteric implications of this star grouping. Greater Life.112 This it does generally through all the components of astrological influence, but The Great Bear in its northerly and polar posi- specifically even more directly through certain tion has thus been emblematic of great spiritual factors, which will now be enumerated. ultimates, such as the origin of creation, cy- clicity, renewal, eternal progress, and even po- According to the esoteric astrological doctrine, litical liberty and self- determination. Linked to the Great Bear transmits its force directly every fundamental of importance, this constel- through several constellations, their representa- lation has not only led the way in myth and sym- tive astrological signs,113 two planets, and even bolism, but has also managed to set its stamp the Sun. The constellations and their representa- upon the very language used by the peoples who tive signs are Aries, Taurus, Leo, Libra, and revered it. For example, the seven stars of this Aquarius, the two planets Saturn and Pluto.114 constellation in their northerly position fur- From the Great Bear, Will energies are dissem- nished the basis for the Latin word septentrio- inated through these factors and ultimately nal, which means northerly or northern (which make their way to the level of human existence. is to say, in the direction of the “seven”).108 Fur- Of the astrological intermediaries that usher the ther, the word “arctic” derives its meaning from energies of the Great Bear into our systemic and this constellation, for the Greek word for bear is planetary life, Aries is one of the most im- arktos, hence “arctic” for any frigid climate ly- portant. According to the Tibetan, this constel- ing in the northerly direction of the Bear con- lation and sign bring forth Ursine energies in stellation.109 two distinct ways. In the first, the constellation Plainly, the Great Bear has ever been highly in- and sign of Aries transmit the energies of the fluential in humankind’s orientation to the sky, Great Bear through the planet Pluto115 to our just as it has in the esoteric cosmology, where it system, stimulating the intent to serve the Di- holds pride of place. Consideration will now vine Plan in advanced units and, collaterally, the turn to the manners in which the influence of “will to power” over others in less evolved this great stellar entity contacts human experi- units.116 In the second case, Aries transmitting ence, doing so through its astrological interme- its power through the Sun brings about a certain diaries. focusing of forces in the life of a disciple such that he or she is enabled to pursue the path of Astrological Intermediaries of initiation with conscious intent and to project the Great Bear his or her consciousness into the planes beyond the strictly personality and form-oriented lev- uling the sky from its polar position, the els.117 R king of constellations is the stellar origin of all astrological influence, for it is from the Great Aries is thus a critical influence upon the path Bear that the seven ray energies pour forth to of discipleship and initiation, aiding signally in energize all the zodiacal constellations, signs, the effort to lift one’s awareness into what the and planets. Because of the fundamentally First Tibetan calls “the realm of the formless Aspect nature of the Great Bear, the seven rays worlds,”118 or those planes above the mental which flow forth from the stars of this constel- plane (the final frontier of personality life). lation are in fact types of Will, or as the Tibetan These target planes would be the buddhic, said, they are the custodians of the Will Aspect atmic, and monadic, and it is Aries influence of Deity.110 Thus, the effect of the Great Bear, which provides the necessary impetus to reach working through the seven rays and all astrolog- such levels. ical factors, is, as the Tibetan said, ever to con- These important psychospiritual effects of Ar- vey into our solar system and eventually into ies are reflected in the fact that the Full Moon our planetary life, the energy of the Will.”111 In occurring during the astrological sign of Aries fact, the Tibetan stated that the effect of the initiates the phase in the year known as the seven rays streaming forth from the stars of the Three Linked Spiritual Festivals, these being Great Bear is ever to bring our planet

24 Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly, 2020. Spring 2020 the Full Moons which occur during the astro- One or Will energy pouring through Taurus bi- logical signs of Aries, Taurus, and Gemini. Ar- furcates into two distinct expressions. On the ies, which distributes the always executive First one hand, as it impacts undeveloped groups and Ray of Will and Power, leads the way and starts individuals, it spawns aggression, the intent to the process with a powerful application of ener- dominate others, and crass materialism.122 On gies which lifts consciousness radically and the other, when Great Bear influence acting simultaneously evokes rapid alignment with the through Taurus flows through the advanced and Higher Will. This is one reason that the Full altruistic of the race, the intent to advance the Moon period falling during the astrological sign evolutionary plan is stimulated.123 of Aries should be heeded with special vigi- The impact of the Great Bear also enters our lance. planetary life through the agencies of Libra, Though Aries factors are of signal importance working through the Sun. Because neither Libra in transmitting the Will aspect from the Great nor the Sun was normally associated with the Bear to our system and planet, other constella- First Ray of Will and Power by the Tibetan, this tions and their representative signs also figure linkage of the Great Bear with these two factors significantly in this matter. Leo, a sign which is largely unexpected. Nonetheless, according distributes Ray One just as does Aries, is a case to the Tibetan, Great Bear energies do work in point. According to the Tibetan, the Will en- through Libra and the Sun to bring about ergies of the Great Bear go not only to Aries, “…that focusing in the life of the disciple which but also to Leo, from whence they flow to Sat- makes it possible for him to function con- urn and then to Shamballa, our planetary head sciously and with intention upon the path of in- center. From Shamballa, these Ray One Great itiation.”124 Libra in this case works on the in- Bear energies radiate to the head centers of spir- dividual through a constant presentation of the itual seekers and finally to their base of spine various pairs of opposites to produce detach- centers, establishing the energies of the Divine ment from both pain and pleasure. Thus bal- Will at each level.119 anced and brought to a broadened perspective, Here again, as these Ursine Will energies gain the individual may function free of the pairs of access to our planetary life and consciousness opposites. The influence of the Great Bear through Leo and then Saturn, they affect the stands behind this process, bringing about the various levels of evolution represented in Hu- necessary destruction of attachments to the manity in different ways. When such energies form nature, and doing so in this case via the eventually reach the advanced spiritual seekers agency of Libra and all that it connotes. of the world and those who have consciously The involvement of the Sun in this distribution recognized Hierarchy and the Divine Plan, the sequence is important as well. Though the Sun Will to serve the Plan is powerfully awak- was most frequently described by the Tibetan as ened.120 However, this same energy of the Will a distributor of Ray Two energies, he also emanating from the Great Bear evokes a differ- linked it with the Great Bear and First Aspect ent response from persons and organizations (or First Ray) energies.125 Considering this fact who have not yet glimpsed the Greater Life in in connection with the role of Libra in the dis- which they exist. Hence, in average humanity tribution of Great Bear energies, it would ap- and in certain nations and races, activation by pear that when the Sun is in the astrological sign Great Bear influence flowing through Leo and of Libra (either in the natal chart or by annual Saturn produces a surge of selfish intent to gar- transit), the power of the Great Bear to liberate ner power or dominion over others,121 a definite from the pairs of opposites may be increased. misqualification of energies, yet a necessary Further, combining the indications above re- step in the process of learning by trial and error. garding the Great Bear and Aries with that con- Similar issues arise from the dissemination of cerning the Great Bear and Libra, it would ap- Ursine influence through the constellation and pear that the equinoctial axis (as represented by sign of Taurus. Just as in the case of Leo and the signs Aries and Libra) functions as a point Saturn described in the previous paragraph, Ray

Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly 25 The Esoteric Quarterly of enhanced reception of Great Bear energies s ubiquitous and important as the influence through the Sun. A of the Great Bear has proven to be, the influence of this constellation is negligible upon This is so because the equinoxes themselves de- average Humanity. According to the Tibetan, it marcate a special relationship between the Earth is not until the individual has attained to the and the Sun, these being the moments in the Third Initiation that the Great Bear becomes a Earth’s orbit around the Sun when the rays of relevant factor in a seeker’s evolution.127 This is the Sun strike the face of our planet the most so because the Third Initiation marks the point directly. Thus, at the equinoxes when the Sun is at which Monadic contact can be made by the astrologically at zero degrees of Aries and Li- individual, a linkage required in order truly to bra, seekers interested in intensifying their pro- sense the fixed star dimension in which the gress toward effective service and initiatory Great Bear is found. Once such a linkage has progress should make all due effort to align with been forged, the nature of the Monad and the the solar forces incoming at those points, carry- Great Bear can be registered. ing as they do the special energies of the Great Bear. This being said, it should also be According to the Tibetan, a Fifth Degree initiate acknowledged that Great Bear energies pour presumably qualified to speak on such matters, through the constellations and signs of Aries the nature of spiritual being inherent in the and Libra year-round, as well. Monad is bliss,128 a bliss which is not based on circumstances in the three worlds of personality Along with Aries, Leo, Taurus, and Libra, the endeavor, but which is based instead upon the constellation and sign of Aquarius also function inner realization of existence beyond time and as distributors of Great Bear influence. Again space.129 Thus, it is likely that the true character according to the Tibetan, it is through Aquarius of Great Bear influence, when registered by an that the universal consciousness characteristic appropriately prepared mind, is also of the na- of the Great Bear is expressed.126 This associa- ture of bliss arising from an inner realization of tion of Aquarius with essentially Ray One en- existence beyond time and space. ergy is, as in the case of Libra, largely unexpected, since this sign is most frequently said to In keeping with the expansive vista offered by distribute Ray Five in Esoteric Astrology. How- the influence of the Great Bear, this constella- ever, the linkage of Ray One with Aquarius tion is associated with the Seventh Cosmic Path, makes plain good sense, as its polar opposite the Path of Absolute Sonship,130 which path was (Leo) distributes Rays One and Five, just as said by the Tibetan to exert an influence through Aquarius would do with the addition of the First all the sacred planets in our solar system to ad- Ray. This type of symmetry can be found in vance the evolutionary pace of the non-sacred other sign pairs, such as Taurus and Scorpio planets and to produce a relationship between (both distributing Ray Four and only Ray Four), our system and the universe.131 Thus, the Great and Virgo and Pisces (both distributing Rays Bear provides the entire evolutionary effort in Two and Six). Thus, it would appear that asso- our system with a view into the far greater cos- ciating Ray One in general with Aquarius can mic life, a role certainly appropriate to this dis- certainly be justified, since it would match its tant and immense congerie of solar logoic life. complementary sign in this regard. The same could be said for Libra, which if accorded Ray Conclusion One energies, would partly match Aries, distrib- he view of the Great Bear offered by the es- utor of Rays One and Seven. Thus, through T oteric occult philosophy of the Tibetan consideration of the information given by the Master and Alice Bailey presents this polar con- Tibetan regarding the Great Bear, the esoteric stellation as the fountainhead of powers and en- astrological system appears to gain completion ergies driving the evolution of our own Solar in certain particulars. Logos, and hence actuating all the life forms The Great Bear and Stages of throughout his body of expression in the planetary schemes, chains, globes, rounds, and races. Higher Evolution Specifically, the esoteric occult cosmological

26 Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly, 2020. Spring 2020 doctrine reveals that the constellation popularly 16) is represented on Earth by the mineral known as Ursa Major, the Big Dipper, and the kingdom, Great Bear is in fact a stunning powerhouse of 17) determines certain time cycles related primordial energies, for, as the discussion has to geological changes, shown, the Great Bear: 18) is a source of Avatars, 19) was perceived by diverse indigenous 1) constitutes the seven head centers of the cultures in ways consistent with the es- Cosmic Logos, oteric teachings, 2) functions as the Monad of our Solar 20) is connected to the Rishis and founding Logos, and together with Sirius and the progenitors of Humanity, Pleiades constitutes the spiritual triad 21) operates through the astrological inter- of our Solar Logos, mediaries Aries, Taurus, Leo, Libra, 3) drives the process of Solar Logoic in- Aquarius, Saturn, and Pluto, (and likely carnation, Capricorn and Vulcan as well), all of 4) stands as the source of all seven rays for which factors serve to awaken the Will our solar system, to cooperate with the Divine Plan in the 5) distributes each of the seven rays evolved, while evoking focused selfish through one of its seven stars, intent in the unevolved, 6) contains in its seven stars the seven ray 22) is likely distributed powerfully at the prototypes of each Planetary Logos in Aries and Libra equinoxes, our system, 23) becomes a relevant consideration for 7) contains the seven stars which individ- seekers at the Third Initiation, ually function as the Monads of the 24) confers the bliss inherent in the Monad Planetary Logoi in our solar system, caused by inner realization of existence 8) is known as the Superior Constellation, beyond time and space, and 9) is the prototype for all subsequent sep- 25) is associated with the Seventh Cosmic tenates, Path, that of Absolute Sonship. 10) receives impetus from the Central Spir- itual Sun, All that the Great Bear connotes simply takes 11) fulfills a First Ray function, our breath, does it not? 12) represents and distributes Divine Will, Thus, as this discussion has demonstrated, to 13) communicates the bliss consequent on gaze at night at the Great Bear stationed com- the realization of existence beyond mandingly at the north celestial pole is to con- time and space, template much more than anyone might have 14) works through all astrological influ- thought. It is to peer straight into the face of so- ences to transmit Divine Will and lar systemic origins and to court the bliss which awaken all levels and units of con- arises from the realization of existence beyond sciousness to the Will, time and space. 15) shapes the thoughtform and physical structure of our solar system,

1 Ursa is Latin for bear, while major is Latin for 7 Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 1058. greater; hence, Greater Bear, meaning the 8 Ibid., 1052. larger of two polar constellations associated 9 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 85, 421 – 422, 589. with bear imagery. 10 Ibid., 602. 2 Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire 11 Ibid., 85, 589; Cosmic Fire, 273. This point is (New York: Lucis Publishing, 1925), 182. also made on 146 of Cosmic Fire, which repro- 3 Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology (New duces a statement from the now out of print York: Lucis Publishing, 1951), 416, 420. version of The Secret Doctrine, v. 2, 668, in 4 Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 1058. which Blavatsky wrote that the Seven Exist- 5 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 481. ences who function through the seven stars of 6 Ibid., 595. the Great Bear are the prototypes or animating

Unfortunately, complete specificity on this point is not contained in the current dispensa- sources of the Seven Heavenly Men, which are tion of the Ageless Wisdom, and thus the mat- of course the Seven Planetary Logoi. 12 ter must remain somewhat of an open question. Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 260, 273. The Tibetan Nonetheless, there is no doubt that the Tibetan stated this principle another way on 1162 of meant to say that the seven rays enter our solar Cosmic Fire, where he indicated that a Plane- system through the seven stars of the Great tary Logos receives logoic force from the Great Bear, and this is the relevant point to be held in Bear on the cosmic mental planes. This is to say mind at this point in the discussion. yet again that the seven visible stars of the 15 Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 990. Great Bear contain the First Aspect component 16 Ibid., 718. Blavatsky also referred to this idea of the seven Planetary Logoi and thus dis- in The Secret Doctrine, v. 1, 407 – 408. charge the equivalent of Monadic Will energies 17 E.C. Krupp, Beyond the Blue Horizon: Myths to the Planetary Logoi. However, it should also and Legends of the Sun, Moon, Stars, and be noted that the Great Bear was presented in Planets (New York: Oxford University Press, Initiation, Human and Solar as the soul (not 1992), 227. monad) of our Planetary Logos. This would 18 Ibid., 237 – 238. seem to be a contradiction, though it still posi- 19 R.H. Allen, Star Names, Their Lore and tions the Great Bear, or perhaps one of its indi- Meaning (New York: Dover Publications, vidual stars, in the position of a higher self to 2000 reprint of 1899 original edition), 419. our Planetary Logos. All the same, as the many 20 Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 920. associations of the Great Bear with a Ray One 21 Ibid. function shall demonstrate, it seems most con- 22 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 430. sistent to associate the Ursine constellation 23 Ibid., 416. with a Monadic function. Thus, it may be rea- 24 Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Psychology I, New sonable to set aside the passage from Initiation York: Lucis Publishing, 1962), 201 – 202. as an early general notion amended later in 25 Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 798. more extensive remarks on the subject. 26 13 Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 311. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 85, 421 – 422. 27 14 Alice A. Bailey, Telepathy and the Etheric This divergence in perspective can be explained Vehicle (New York: Lucis Publishing,1950), in a rather simple fashion if the hypothesis is 129. accepted that the centers of the Super Cosmic 28 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 590. Logos are the more remote sources of the seven 29 Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 316. rays. In this view, the seven rays would arise 30 Ibid., 311; Telepathy, 129. from seven constellations which function as the 31 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 603. centers of the Super Cosmic Logos. From 32 Bailey, Initiation, Human and Solar (New there, the seven rays would be transmitted each York: Lucis Publishing, 1922), 77; Disciple- to one of the seven stars of the Great Bear, from ship in the New Age I (New York: Lucis Pub- thence to gain entry into our solar system. lishing, 1944), 181, 420, 557. However, there are at least two complications 33 Bailey, Telepathy, 120. with this model, which otherwise is entirely 34 Ibid. consistent with the septenary organization of 35 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 602 – 604. all logoi. The first is that the Great Bear would 36 Bailey, Telepathy, 121. fill two roles, one as the Head Center of the Su- 37 Ibid., 118. per Cosmic Logos, and then at a lower level of 38 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 584. organization, the seven stars of the Great Bear 39 Ibid., 583. would then constitute the seven individual cen- 40 Ibid., 603. ters of the Cosmic Logos. The second is this: 41 Ibid., 595 – 601; summarized 602; restated since the Sun of our solar system is not nor- 605. mally considered to be one of the stars of the 42 Ibid., 609. Great Bear, this too introduces a dilemma, 43 Ibid., 579 – 634. since the origin of the seven rays is said in some 44 Ibid., 22. This point is further developed 579 passages to be the seven solar systems of which – 634. ours is one. This last fact argues for the rise of 45 Bailey, Telepathy. 121. the seven rays in some configuration of stars 46 Ibid., 119 – 120. existing independently of the Great Bear, even 47 Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 803. though the Ursine constellation is spoken of as the origin of the rays for our system.

similar enough that either would be suggestive. Bauval and Gilbert appear to accept the more 48 Ibid., 640. 49 modern hypothesis that the constellation upon Ibid. which the adze was patterned is not the Great 50 Bailey, Esoteric Psychology I, 44. 51 Bear, but the Lesser or Little Bear, Ursa Minor. Alice A. Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations Nonetheless, this issue is mentioned here in (New York: Lucis Publishing, 1960), 417. deference to the fact that the stars of the Great 52 Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 552 – 553. 53 Bear might be implicated. A full exploration of this term follows in this 76 Bauval and Gilbert, The Orion Mystery, 210. section on the Great Bear. 77 54 Subhash Kak, The Astronomical Code of the Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 553. Rgveda, (Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 55 Ibid., 795. 56 2000), 14. Ibid., 723. 78 57 Krupp, Beyond, 234. Ibid., 725. 79 The Tibetan used the term “rishi” in at least 58 Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations, 423. 59 three senses. First, he used it broadly to de- Ibid. scribe members of the Planetary Hierarchy, ex- 60 Krupp, Beyond, 227, 232, 236 – 237. 61 amples of which usage can be found in Bailey’s Allen, Star Names, 419. One prominent exam- A Treatise on White Magic, 153, and Esoteric ple is the ancient Greek conceptualization of Psychology I, 313. Second, he used the term this star grouping, which the Greeks saw as a “rishi” very infrequently, as he did in Bailey’s female bear who had originally been a nymph Cosmic Fire, 270, to signify the Planetary Lo- accosted by Zeus, consequently persecuted by goi, who are of course representatives of the Hera, and ultimately thrown to the heavens for seven ray powers emanated from the Great protection by a remorseful Zeus. 62 Bear. The third sense in which the Tibetan used All the material describing the various concep- the term “rishis” refers to the spiritual intelli- tualizations of the Great Bear has been summa- gences inhabiting the seven stars of the Great rized from Krupp, Beyond, 13 – 14, 227, 232, Bear. This third sense is the one employed far 236 – 237. more frequently by the Tibetan, for proof of 63 Krupp, Beyond, 228 – 229. 64 which see the following: Cosmic Fire, 146, Ibid., 239. 273, 431, 515, 553, 630, 657, 703, 718, 743, 65 Allen, Star Names, 433. 66 801, 990, 1157, 1162; and Esoteric Astrology, Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 1034. 85, 201, 269, 270, 419, 422, 589, 640. In all 67 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 300. 68 these passages, the Tibetan referred to the in- Allen, Star Names, 15. telligences of the seven stars in the Great Bear 69 Ibid., 419. 70 as the “Seven Rishis.” Ibid. 80 71 H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine I (Adhyar: Valencia Stratton, The Celestial Ship of the Theosophical University Press, 1888), 198, North (Publisher Unknown, 1927), v. 1, 15. 453. Yet another instance of this usage might 72 Ibid. 73 be found in The Collected Writings of H.P. This phraseology is used in a footnote on 692 Blavatsky, ed. Boris de Zirkoff, (Wheaton: of Bailey’s Cosmic Fire. Given that some have Quest Books, 1966), v. XIV, 337, which rec- thought that Pythagoras was an earlier incarna- ords Blavatsky’s statement that “Brahma’s tion of Alice Bailey’s Master, Koot Humi, the head is ornamented with seven rays, and he is similarity between the Pythagorean characteri- followed by the seven Rishis…,” which state- zation of the Great Bear and that of the twenti- ment might be interpreted to refer to the role of eth century dispensation of the Ageless Wis- the Great Bear in receiving and distributing the dom is entirely understandable, both having seven rays. emanated from essentially the same source. 81 H.P. Blavatsky, Theosophical Glossary (1982; 74 Krupp, Beyond, 234 – 235. 75 reprint; Los Angeles: The Theosophical Pub- Ibid. Expert opinion is divided over the ques- lishing Company1930), 278. tion of which of the two Ursine constellations 82 Zirkoff, Collected Writings, v. V, 60. was the original pattern for the Egyptian funer- 83 Ibid., 232. ary adze, as discussed by Robert Bauval and 84 Zirkoff, Collected Writings, XIV, 252 footnote. Adrian Gilbert in The Orion Mystery: Unlock- 85 This notion was recently stated in an informal ing the Secrets of the Pyramids (New York: 1990s newsletter to the American devotees of Penguin Random House, 1995), 206 – 209. The Shri Shri Shiva Balayogi. Blavatsky also stated general shape of the two star groupings is

107 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 300. that exoteric Hinduism associates the seven 108 Krupp, Beyond, 232. founding rishis with the Great Bear constella- 109 Of course, the word arctic in modern English tion, said to be their dwelling place. See refers to not only lands near the north pole on Zirkoff, Collected Writings, v. X, p. 346. 86 our planet, but those near the south pole as Kak, Astronomical Code, 15, 64, 80 - 81. Ac- well, the commonality being the frigidity of the cording to Blavatsky in The Secret Doctrine, v. climate to be found in those locations. II, 606, the Rig Veda was written by the earliest 110 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 603. initiates of the present race (which is the Fifth, 111 Ibid. or Aryan Race), and that this anciently com- 112 Ibid., 609. posed doctrine contains essentially the same 113 Any zodiacal sign is a thirty-degree portion of teaching on the races and continents as does the the ecliptic, the sequence of all twelve signs be- Ageless Wisdom. An example of this similar- ginning with the point in space against which ity is plainly obvious in the teaching on the na- the Sun is to be seen at the northern hemi- ture of the constellation called by the West- sphere’s Spring Equinox. Though any such erner the Great Bear, and by the Hindu, “Sap- thirty degree portion of the ecliptic does not co- tarishi.” 87 incide in space with the location of the stars in Zirkoff, Collected Writings, v. XIV, 334. the constellation of the same name, this dis- 88 Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine, v. II, 605. 89 crepancy presents no problem within the eso- See footnotes in Cosmic Fire, 250 , 270. teric astrology of Alice Bailey and the Tibetan, 90 Zirkoff, Collected Writings, v. II, 121. 91 for Djwal Khul held that the sidereal constella- Ibid., v. VIII, 90. Interestingly, this usage of tions are the energy sources for the zodiacal the term tallies squarely with the Tibetan’s use signs, which point was made in White Magic, of the term “Rishis” to mean members of the 437, and in Esoteric Astrology, 193, 299, 410. Planetary Hierarchy. 114 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 349, 376, 377, 416, 92 Kak, Astronomical Code, 81. 93 427, 428, 466. Certainly, there are other astro- Krupp, Beyond, 221. logical factors associated with Ray One, these 94 Ibid., 232. 95 being Capricorn and Vulcan. Though they are Ibid., 235. not mentioned in these passages specifically, it 96 Ibid., 232. 97 seems the better part of reason to assume that Ibid., 227. Capricorn and Vulcan also mediate Great Bear 98 Allen, Star Names, 426; Krupp, Beyond, 230; 99 energies, and hence bring forth the same neces- Allen, Star Names, 425. A connection between sary destructions and eliminations in the pro- the Great Bear, Arthurian legend, and the Mys- cess of establishing the intent of the Greater teries of the Holy Grail is also mentioned in Pe- Life. ter Dawkins, Arcadia (Warkwickshire: Arcadia 115 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 416. Journal, 1988). 116 100 Ibid., 376. Allen, Star Names, 426. 117 101 Ibid., 466. Krupp, Beyond, 230. 118 102 Ibid. Allen, Star Names, 427; Krupp, Beyond, 230. 119 103 Ibid., 427 – 428. Krupp, Beyond, 230. 120 104 Ibid., 376. The fact that many European peoples associ- 121 This might be deduced from the general impli- ated the seven stars of the Great Bear with the cations of the discussion found in Esoteric As- image of a wagon or chariot might suggest trology on 376. some linkage of this constellation with the Sev- 122 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 376 – 378. enth Card of the Tarot, also called The Chariot. 123 Ibid., 377, 378. Yet another name for this card, The Victor, 124 Ibid., 466. smacks of strong Ray One themes just such as 125 Bailey, Cosmic Fire, 96. might be expected from the influence of a Ray 126 Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, 349. One constellation. 127 105 Ibid., 29, 449. Krupp, Beyond, 232. 128 106 Bailey, Discipleship in the New Age I, 181, In this quest for personal and political freedom, 557. a great principle was embodied, for according 129 Bailey, Initiation, Human and Solar, 77. to the Ageless Wisdom, “Freedom is an essen- 130 Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations, 422. tially spiritual attribute, underlying the entire 131 Ibid., 423. evolutionary process….” Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations, 428.