Astrology and the Esoteric The Seven Rays and the Moon Node Horoscope Louise Huber Translated by David Kerr from an article in Astrolog magazine. Published by Astrological Psychology Association www.astrologicalpsychology.org Astrology and the Esoteric The Seven Rays and the Moon-Node Horoscope by Louise Huber Translated from “Astrolog” by David Kerr. Dip. API Many people believe that esotericism has to What does “esoteric” mean? do only with parapsychological phenomena, If you look in a dictionary you will find that with occult practices such as spiritualist sé- “esoteric” is derived from the Greek word ances, clairvoyance or hypnoses, among oth- “esoterikos” which means simply “inner” or ers. Often they do not know the esoteric is “hidden”. It therefore indicates that which actually a spiritual path, a path of initiation lies behind external appearances, invisible which in the great cultures of antiquity could energies which give rise to visible forms be undertaken only within a mystery school. and bodies. It refers to the subtle world of Through The Secret Doctrine of Helena Pet- energies and forces, to the essence, the Self rovna Blavatsky (1875) this knowledge was or the Soul, which is concealed behind all drawn from the circles of initiates and dis- external forms. That holds good for hu- seminated to humanity at the end of the 19th mans as well as for plants or any other kind century. The Secret Doctrine became the of being. It can be the organism of an atom, key work for all esoteric developments. Al- a plant, an animal or a human being. In ice A. Bailey, Rudolf Steiner, Max Heindel each case the esoteric factor is the vital and many others were pupils of Blavatsky qualitative principle from which the organ- and brought her knowledge out into the ism draws its life energy. world, from which the various schools of thought have developed. The esoteric is therefore concerned with the background of life which penetrates all Nowadays many more people are interested forms and supports life, from tiny atoms to in the esoteric than before. In 1973 it was the gigantic entities which we call planets or still difficult to teach anything about karma solar systems. For that reason it important and reincarnation, never mind the extensive to grasp at the outset that every human is a works of Alice A. Bailey that formed our tiny part of an immeasurable and all- esoteric background. During our six-year encompassing whole, and that the energies involvement with the Arcane School in Ge- which drive it and all of life are those of “a neva and at the Institute for Psychosynthesis Life in which we live, move and have our with Dr. Roberto Assagioli we were able to being”. To be able to understand the eso- study the teachings of Alice A. Bailey and teric one has to learn that every isolated po- test them in practice. Since then we have sition, every state of separation from the tried to integrate this knowledge into the whole is actually only an illusion. From the body of astrological teaching and to bring point of view of the Unity of Life, every- the esoteric terminology into a form which thing that exists comes from a single source. everyone can understand. That became pos- The study of the esoteric is therefore also sible with the help of astrological ways of the search for this original source, for the thinking. Because the interpretation of the “way back to the Father’s house”, which in “Seven Rays”, as well as the moon-node esoteric literature is called the Path of Initia- horoscopes, is to do with the esoteric dimen- tion. With it is associated the esoteric as- sion, we could not have managed it without trology by means of which, with the help of the relevant basic knowledge. For that rea- the three spiritual planets and the three son, and because we have received many re- charts, moon-node, birth and house chart, quests, we will explain the basic esoteric as- the necessary steps, transformation proc- sociations which have to do with astrology. esses and expansions of consciousness may 1 be determined. gendered and maintained in motion by crea- tion. The etheric world, the moon-node chart and the Seven Rays What is Light? The life principle that makes all forms alive Everything that exists, the entire created is also called ether in the esoteric literature, universe, is the result of light. Light is the and prana in the Indian philosophy. Ether central life principle, it is the ether, the mo- interpenetrates all planes, takes on their tivating and creating energy of life, Light is shape and colour and in this way continu- divine. Seen from a different viewpoint the ously creates new forms of expression of seven cosmic energies are the embodiment life. It is present on all seven cosmic planes. of seven types of force, that demonstrate the The esotericist knows that behind the world seven qualities of the Divine. On the one of the senses lies hidden an etheric, i.e. spiri- hand these seven qualities have an effect in tual, world, which is actually the controlling a sevenfold way on the matter and forms and energising force in every living body. which exist throughout the whole universe, The ether is the realm in and through which and on the other hand relate in a sevenfold the energies arising from many sources op- way one to another. There is a fantastic ef- erate. The teaching of the Seven Rays is fect of working within one another and an founded on this fact. The etheric body of inter-penetration of Light in the universe, the entire universe, our planet and each indi- the extent of which can scarcely be imag- vidual human being resembles a golden net ined. It is easiest to use an analogy, and of streams of energy that is in constant, un- thus one best understands this everywhere- ceasing motion - an eternal medium for the connected network of Light by considering interchange and transmission of energies that there is an etheric world, that has al- and information. ways been known in esotericism as “mysterium magicum”, from which every- The meaning of the Seven Rays thing that exists has been born and to which Looking at it in this way it becomes possible everything will again return. In other words, to understand the effects of the Seven Rays. light and ether are the same, it is the Light The seven cosmic rays are seven types or of the Soul, the Fohat of the Monad, or Uni- manifestations of light, drawn from the spe- versal Soul, which serves as the matrix of cial substance of a plane. That is, on each of the universe. Incidentally, it is interesting the seven cosmic planes there arises another that the Ether in its manifestation on the as- quality of colour if the light is focused on tral plane is also called the Akashic Record. the matter or substance of this plane. The The Ether is the primal substance in which a colours of the spectrum are an example of record everything that has once lived is that. We know that rays of light directed stored. In old esoteric texts the etheric di- onto matter gives rise to colours. Because mension is also compared to a desert in of the reflections from some form of matter, which the traces of complete epochs of time colours are displayed, according to how the remain, including those of each human life. matter is constituted. If a ray of light is re- The moon-node chart contains these traces fracted in polished glass or a drop of water, in the sand. the whole spectrum becomes visible. In this way one can imagine the effects of the seven Ether and science cosmic rays. They interpenetrate every- Modern science is also engaged in investi- thing, they energise everything, they are the gation of the etheric world as a world of en- origin of our being. For that reason they ergy. Physicists and astronomers recognise over-arch normal astrology. They are fun- that space is filled with electromagnetic cur- damental energies that condition our lives, rents and fields that are in constant motion they are those energy forms which are en- and transmit “information” uninterruptedly. 2 Biologists and physicians investigate the key i.e. what has been experienced. In that way role of electromagnetic phenomena in the one can look at the moon-node line as a animal realm, as in the human central nerv- code which makes possible the entry into ous system and brain activity. Apparently the moon-node chart. Another approach to inert matter reveals for the first time under this topic is the esoteric concept of the the electron microscope its pulsating inner growth of a human being. Through that the forces and their structure. The micro-world value of the moon-node chart for the evolu- of atomic physics proves itself as an experi- tionary process can be properly categorised. mental treasure-chest of insights. Meantime researchers with their quantum theory and The four subtle bodies of Man the hypothetical elemental particles, called In the accompanying diagram the esoteric quarks, venture ever deeper into the subtle constitution of Man is represented pictori- structure of the world which is hidden from ally. We visualise that directly around the the eye. Relationships between energy and [physical] body is the etheric body. In the matter, order and chaos become comprehen- middle layer is the emotional or astral body sible. Many pronouncements of modern sci- and outside that the mental body.