"Virgo, as an earth sign, has a distinctly practical
connotation: 'I work to make money to sustain my physical life and that of
those I love.' As long as the attitude toward the service of teaching is 'I
learn something so that I can teach something so that I can make some money,'
the square aspect of Gemini-Virgo threatens the unfoldment of the teacher's
capacities by keeping him identified in consciousness in frictional awareness
of 'practical considerations.' "
Jupiter, as the abstract ruler of the ninth house, is
the astrological symbol of the teacher. Since a consideration of abstract
subjects is assisted by meditation on a drawn symbol, or "outpicturing," it is
suggested that four astrological designs be utilized in the pursuance of this
material.
The first will be a wheel with the houses numbered;
the symbol of Sagittarius on the ninth cusp, the symbol of Jupiter in the
ninth house. In the consideration of this design we find our point of
concentration to be in the upper hemisphere of the horoscope; or, shall we
say, in the soul consciousness part of the life pattern. It is the
transcendent expression of its lower polarity, the third house. We could talk
about the ninth house and remain "up in the air" forever if we do not "root
ourselves" in consideration of the third house which is ruled abstractly by
Mercury through the sign Gemini.
To our original design we now add the sign Gemini on
the third cusp and in the third house we put the symbol for Mercury. We have
now established a "polarity design" by which a point in the lower half of the
wheel is directed into the upper half. This design signifies a "path of
evolution" by which an aspect of the "separative consciousness" evolves into
an aspect of the "impersonal" or "soul" consciousness.
The first house is "I am" — the recognition of
individual consciousness, of Being. The second house is "I have" — an
emotional identification with Life by the consciousness of "attachment
through possession." The third house is the "awareness of Life" through an
exercise of the unemotional faculty of intellect. As abstract rulers of
the first and second houses Mars and Venus are "emotional expressions;"
Mercury, as abstract ruler of the third, is, even in primitive levels, the
first awareness of unemotional impersonal consciousness.
Mercury, then, is our capacity for "unemotional
identification." By its exercise we give names to things, either concrete or
abstract. We also give identification to things in terms of measurement,
quality, and function. Mercury is not a means by which we identify ourselves
with Life; it is the means by which we relate the objectifications of Life to
ourselves for our utilizations and communications.
Seen from this standpoint, Mercury (as ruler of the
third house of the first or "ingathering" quadrant of the wheel) is the symbol
of all learning. It is the faculty by which facts are transmitted from one
person's mentality to another's mentality. It is, correspondingly, the
faculty by which facts are comprehended by the mentality receiving the
instruction or information. Mercury is language, expressed concretely
by the spoken word, gesture, or picture; abstractly, by the written word. It
is the symbol of universal relationship of people to each other in terms of
mental rapport. It is the symbol of all students, and, as such,
esoterically symbolizes the essence of all fraternal relationships. (We are
all, regardless of outer relationships, parallel with each other — fraternally — because we are all learners from life experience.)
Further consideration of this design will show that
all teaching has its roots in learning, and that development of skill as a
teacher is dependent on the faculty of learning being kept alive. The polarity
currents (in consciousness) between the lower and upper hemispheres must be
kept stimulated if the upper half capacities are to flower. We are never
separate from any part of our horoscope; even though we may spend twenty hours
out of each day in the profession of teaching, the currents of "intake" must
not become depleted or neglected. Learning is an ignition of awareness of
facts and identifications; it may be likened to an inhalation of breath.
Anyone truly and strongly motivated to teach will keep this "third house
faculty" alive. In other words, he will neglect no opportunity to learn
further. To stop the "intaking" is to insure an eventual stoppage, of
crystallization, of the ability to teach. (Herein lies a lesson in sincerity
and humility: teachers take heed.)
If Mercury is the symbol of "mental intaking" then
Jupiter — vital, radiant, and dynamic — is the abstraction of "exhalation:"
transmission of knowledge or ignition of intellectual awareness amplified
and enriched by the maturity of spiritual understanding. Knowledge of
facts plus awareness of Principles. In this connection we must add
another factor to our design: the sign Virgo on the cusp of the sixth house,
creating a T-cross, two arms of which are in the lower hemisphere, ruled by
Mercury.
Here the abstract symbol of "fellow students" is
expressed in an extended form to represent the "fraternity of workers." Work,
spiritually considered, is more than physical labor — it is
the service
that each person may render as a contribution to the betterment of Life for
all.
Virgo, as an earth sign, has a distinctly practical
connotation: "I work to make money to sustain my physical life and that of
those I love." As long as the attitude toward the service of teaching is "I
learn something so that I can teach something so that I can make some money,"
the square aspect of Gemini-Virgo threatens the unfoldment of the teacher's
capacities by keeping him identified in consciousness in frictional awareness
of "practical considerations." The redemption of this square pattern is found
in the fact that the sixth house is the last house of the lower hemisphere and
is the "modulation" into the upper hemisphere of emotional regeneration and
spiritual awareness. It succeeds the fifth house, which is that of Love-power;
when the consciousness of "money-making-labor" is charged with the creativity
of Love and expressed as Service for the betterment of Life it becomes an
expression of redemption. Through the experiences of Love-service we gain
understanding of our subject that makes mere book learning seem, in
comparison, a lifeless shell. This understanding is the thing that a true
teacher radiates to his students.
We now complete this design by adding the symbol for
Pisces on the cusp of the twelfth house and place the symbol of Neptune
therein: the cross of mutable signs. Through the first arm, Gemini, Mercury
symbolizes the "learner;" its "exhalation" is Jupiter as abstraction of the
ninth house. Mercury, through Virgo, is the "learner" from Service-experience;
its "exhalation" is Neptune as the abstraction of the twelfth. Of this, more
anon.
To consider the subject more concretely, let us
regard some of the problems that are, sooner or later, faced by those who
experience the urge to teach.
Since, in the first place, teaching is a dynamic
expression of wisdom, the motive must be one of illumination. Anyone who
responds to the urge to illuminate must accept a challenge from those patterns
of consciousness that represent darkness: mental crystallization, rigid
formalism of opinion and attitude, prejudice, the kind of ignorance that forms
a basis of indifference toward the impersonal or spiritual needs of students.
This experience pattern serves as a challenge to the integrity and courage of
the teacher.
The urge to fulfill an impersonal service is, sooner
or later, to he tested by the person's own consciousness of economic factors.
This testing is one of the most significant points in the evolution of anyone
who is spiritually aspiring in any work-pattern. Considering again the design
with the mutable signs we see that the opposition aspects are "rooted" by
Mercury through Gemini and Virgo. Unregenerate Mercury, in its alliance with
the first sector of the wheel, is "practicality," "expediency," "literalness,"
and "surface evaluation." These key words pertain to levels of consciousness
which have not, as yet, touched the impersonal. Persons who are motivated into
the teaching profession and who remain in this expression of Mercury are those
whose basic attitude is one of self-interest. "Which job pays the most?"
"Which job paves the way for the greatest academic prestige?," "earliest
retirement," "biggest pension," "pleasantest surroundings," and so on. These
considerations are held by everyone for a time in their evolutionary progress,
but the point that is being made here is that eventually the attitude
toward work must be regenerated into one of Love-service. Until that step is
taken the function of teachership cannot be truly fulfilled. Astrologically,
the above may be translated in this way: until self-interest is transcended,
the cycle starting with Mercury-Gemini cannot find its spiritualized
fulfillment in Neptune-Pisces, through Jupiter-Sagittarius.
Since Jupiter, as symbol of the teacher, is found in
the upper hemisphere of the wheel, the testings of the truly motivated teacher
are much more "inner" than they are "outer." His most significant problems are
soul problems. Some of these testings arise from the necessity to regenerate
what might be called qualities of negative Jupiter, such as:
Intellectual pride, by which the teacher fixates
himself in egotistic levels due to the feeling of having superiority over
those he teaches. This tendency can be remedied by a "switch in consciousness"
by which the teacher intensifies his awareness that he is not nor never can
be, a repository for all the knowledge of his particular subject, but
is, in effect, an elder brother to those he teaches — and any one of them may
be, innately, his superior in essential wisdom. He recognizes that he is a
foreshadowing of the development of his pupils and that he serves as a
"modulating point" by which they move from levels of innocence to levels of
awareness of their own wisdom. He must never forget that he has, at
some time or other, traversed the same path of learning, and, in terms of his
own personal development, should still be a learner. In other words he should
keep his attitude toward his teaching work fluid and dynamic — expanding,
improving, and enlarging. Thus he utilizes regenerative key words of Jupiter
to prevent the crystallizations caused by pride.
Self-aggrandizement through desire for recognition
and praise is an expression of Jupiter as vanity and greed. In this level, the
teacher seeks continually to shine over his colleagues to compensate for his
envy of them. He desires the adulation of his students; he utilizes his work
to gain the good opinion of people. An urge to improve his skill and enlarge
his scope is motivated, basically, by his wish to be well thought of. This
"inturning" viewpoint carries the seeds of its own disintegration since it
automatically results in an experience which will serve to shatter the
fixated, limiting motivation.
The purpose of teaching is not
self-aggrandizement
but the illumination of the consciousness of others. The teacher who
has an attitude based on his integrity as a worker possesses what might be
called a healthy humility — he respects the work he is doing; he cultivates his
skill in order that the work be improved; he is thankful for all suggestions
that are given him and he is willing to give them his consideration. His
attitude toward his colleagues is one of appreciation for their value to
the work, not one of competitiveness, since he recognizes that each
teacher has his own unique contribution to make. He assists each one
when he can and he is willing to learn from each of them when he can. In other
words, he utilizes the Jupiterian key word of "improvement" and keeps his
motivations spiritualized and regenerated.
The true teacher's attitude toward his pupils is
never one of "having power over them." It is true that he does have, since
they are susceptible to his words and influence, but his motivation is to
"alert" them to an awareness of their own powers and abilities and the ways
and means by which they may express their best potentials. Motivated by love
his attitude toward his pupils is one of benevolence; their progress is
his joy. He appreciates the significance of the emergence of his pupils from
one level of understanding to a higher one. His desire is to assist growth —
never to "keep in submission." His "output" as a teacher is backed up by
loving appreciation of his pupils — as students and persons — who, in their
turn, will be instrumental in the furthering of the work which is the object
of their mutual devotion — the altar on which he and they have lighted their
candles.
The symbol of the teacher's path in its most subtly
spiritualized expressions is found in the fourth quadrant of the mutable
cross: Jupiter in the ninth to Neptune in the twelfth. This is the experience-
pattern of the Elder Brother — the illuminator of Souls, the radiation of
Wisdom of Philosophies and Arts; universal in its scope of redemptive power.
In this sector of development intellectual knowledge has been encompassed and
transcended. The pupil is concerned with the Principles of Life and his
aspirations — not his desires or ambitions — are fired by contact with the
illumined Intelligence and spiritualized consciousness of the teacher.
One more design: Aries on the first cusp, Leo on the
fifth, and Sagittarius on the ninth; Mars in the first house, Sun in the
fifth, and Jupiter in the ninth. This is the trinity of the fire signs. Mars
says: "I am" a manifested expression of the One." The Sun says: "I am the
radiating power of Love." Jupiter says: "I am the radiation of wisdom."
This triangular design outpictures the dynamic
consciousness; Jupiter as teacher, here symbolizes spiritual parenthood: the
father who guides the development and illuminates the evolving awareness of
his "children," his "little brothers and sisters." In human terms, Jupiter is
here seen to symbolize the spiritual responsibilities of fatherhood — and the
responsibility of all parents to provide spiritual as well as physical
nurture to those who have incarnated through them.
On impersonal levels, it shows the inherent spiritual
parenthood of all teachers to their pupils, who, on mental levels, are
their children. Parents should be teachers; all true
teachers bring to their pupils a radiation of Love-power that makes for
completest fulfillment of their Teaching Service.
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