George was an evangelist, a proselytiser is probably a better description. Born in Suffolk, at some point he moved to York where he became a stuff warehouseman, as they were called. And in that environment it seems he studied Hebrew and Greek. Obviously he made some impact because he moved to New Zealand in about 1881 to lecture on religious matters.

As far as I can tell the Aldridge family up until he left Suffolk had lived around Thornham Magna and Mellis in mid Suffolk for a few centuries at least. It seems to me that religion was how he lifted himself and his family out of a life of labour. Reading New Zealand Newspapers of the day three things strike me. One was that he was quite widely respected. Another was that he was very dogmatic. And lastly, despite that he did seem to think for himself. Although, I did get a strong sense that it was his way or the high way. And the Church I grew up in, which he ministered for 40 odd years, struck me just like that.

His key doctrine was conditional immortality – the idea that you had to be born again in Christ in order to attain immortality. He even wrote pamphlets pointing out the doctinal errors of some of his contemporaries. What strikes me in my own family is that there is still an element of zeal that pervades it in various shapes and forms. And I don’t believe I’ve escaped. Is my doctrine that meditation and the practice of emptiness is a path to enlightenment any different? As long as they are intellectual concepts they certainly aren’t.

Astrologically speaking I have transiting Saturn opposing natal Moon right now. It’s a good time to dig up the past, especially with natal Saturn in the 4th. And it’s a good time to look at one’s conditioning. As I was sitting reading this stuff in the wee hours of the morning, it dawned on me that there really was no root. How far back do you go to have a sense of identity. It is without limit. Although looking down the male line is kind of interesting, after all that’s our Y chromosome. I wonder what it would be like to look down the female line at the mitochondrial DNA? The rest of us, which is most of us, is a hotch potch of intereraction.

It seems that George and I have a few things in common. Perhaps the religious karma started there, I don’t know. Other karmas probably started elsewhere. There’s probably a lot we don’t have in common as well. What does strike me is just how much who we think we are is nothing more than the result of a chain of conditioning. So who are we? And that takes me right back to the mat.

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The Sabian Symbols are a symbol for each of the 360 degrees of the zodiac. These were collated by Marc Edmund Jones and Elsie wheeler as a clairvoyant exercise in 1925. An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and Its 360 Symbolic Phases is my primary reference on this material, although naturally I don’t always agree with the interpretation.

The first degree of Aries is “A Woman Just Risen From The Sea; A Seal Is Embracing Her” showing emergence into a new state of being. This symbol begins all cycles, but here we are interested in the five-fold cycle. It occurs at the beginning of Aries, the sign of beginnings emerging from Pisces the sign of the fish.

A fifth of a circle is 72 degrees – a quintile -, whose symbol is “A Famous Pianist Giving A Concert Performance.” This shows the cultivation of talent, through discipline and training to the point where it becomes of cultural value. We see the emergence of the will and its cultural expression. This is the opening quintile to be found naturally in Gemini, the sign of recognised duality. In fact, the usual interpretation for the quintile series is talent, but I think there is much more to the series than that.

However the mind becomes dissatisfied and what was once fulfilling becomes empty, and so through a greater act of will the mind takes it upon itself to make the journey through emptiness. The symbol at 144 degress, the opening biquintile, is: “A Large Camel Is Seen Crossing A Vast And Forbidding Desert.” This is the opening biquintile, which occurs in Leo, the sign of will and also a fire sign. In one sense the desert to be crossed is the landscape made barren by the ego driven will.

That journey requires of course the examination of the depths of ones being, the mind itself is examined. And again the symbol at 216 degrees, the closing biquintile, is revealing. “Deep-Sea Divers.” Through meditation we plunge deeper and deeper into our very being and begin to awaken to our true nature. To a large extent this examination is fundamentally about our desire natures. So it is no surprise that this occurs in Scorpio, a water sign.

Then we come to the closing quintile. In a way the last symbol seems odd, it apparently lacks the profundity of the earlier symbols. The first interesting thing is that the number five pops up immediately. “A Five-Year-Old Child Carrying A Bag Filled With Groceries.” Rather than a five year old child, it could be a child of mind. Rudhyar thought that the symbol suggested taking on responsibility prematurely. It is said that the initiate is an initiate before initiation. Perhaps this is more about the awakening mind taking on the law of necessity. Perhaps it could be a being although not yet a bodhisattva, taking on the bodhisattva vow:-

May I liberate all sentient beings.
May I end all vexations.
May I master all dharmas.
May I attain the supreme awakening.

Whatever it is, it shows commitment to and awareness of the new cycle. Perhaps this is what enables the transformative process to complete.

I think another interesting feature about this symbol is that all of the others contain a sense of freedom. The pianist is the freedom of mastery. Then there’s the wide open space of the desert and the vastness of the sea. In this symbol it is now about responsibility and interestingly it occurs naturally in the sign of Capricorn of duty and responsibility. Capricorn, symbolised by the mountain climbing goat, is itself the sign of initiation.

And we return to the closing and opening of the series at zero degrees again. “A Woman Just Risen From The Sea; A Seal Is Embracing Her.” Life embraces the individual who has transformed himself and emerged from the sea of illusion – maya. In reality it is a non-dualistic process. All of life is awakened by the effort. As Buddha is said to have proclaimed upon awakening, behold all beings are already Buddha.

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1. Disciples upon the Path of Discipleship are strongly influenced by Mercury and Saturn – one bringing illumination and the other offering opportunity.
2. At the various initiations, the influence of the planets affects the candidate in a totally different manner than earlier. Cyclically the energies from the constellations pour through the planetary centers.
   1. At the first initiation, the disciple has to contend with the crystallizing and destroying forces of Vulcan and Pluto. The influence of Vulcan reaches to the very depths of his nature, whilst Pluto drags to the surface and destroys all that hinders in these lower regions.
   2. At the second initiation, the candidate comes under the influence of three planets – Neptune, Venus and Jupiter. The three centers – solar plexus, heart and throat – are actively involved.
   3. At the third initiation, the Moon (veiling a hidden planet) and Mars bring about a fearful conflict, but at the end the man is released from personality control.
   4. At the fourth initiation, Mercury and Saturn again bring about great changes and unique revelation, but their effect is very different to the earlier experience.
   5. At the fifth and final initiation, Uranus and Jupiter appear and produce a “beneficent organization” of the totality of energies found in the initiate’s equipment. When this reorganization is complete, the initiate can then “escape from off the wheel and then can truly live.”

If you’re unfamiliar with the terminology, here’s what I think. The fifth initiation produces the buddhist arhat and is known as the revelation in esoteric terminology or the ressurection, the fourth is the crucifixion or renunciation, the third is transfiguration when thought is transcended, the second is the baptism or stream enterer in buddhism when desire is overcome, and the first is recognition of the inner Christ or one’s buddha nature when the physical appetite is brought under control. The problem is that these often become a source for spiritual pride and ambition. And if they’re that throw them away. I did. But from time to time they’re an interesting review of the work ahead.

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Saturn represents structure, boundaries and limitations. Psychologically speaking it represents the ego, not as some central point of I, but as a structure which we have developed to cope with the world around us.

Interestingly, I think as we tread the path Saturn represents self-enforced or self-chosen limitation. In the world of form limitations are a self-evident given. One the one hand, a clear form enables the light to shine through it into the world. And on the other hand a form that we struggle with enables us to confront the delusion in our own minds. And this is I think where the role of sila, or ethical conduct, comes in on the spiritual path.

For this reason, ethical conduct is as much a practise as meditation. In sila we are constructing a new form, which acts as a vehicle of the light, but it is not the light. To quote Bodhidharma: Buddhas do not observe precepts. Buddhas do not break precepts.

To free the mind from all improprieties is the Sila of Mind-essence;
To free the mind from all perturbations is the Dhyana of Mind-essence.
That which neither increases nor decreases is the ‘diamond’ of Mind-essence.
‘Going’ and ‘coming’ are only phases of Samadhi.

The Sutra of Hui Neng

But I think there’s more to it than this. We are simplifying our lives, reducing all of the unnecessary clutter. But we are also expressing our true nature. Meditation is ultimately an act of self-expression in a very concentrated and very limited form, i.e. sitting on a mat. This is what gives this mode of self-expression its power. Sila is like this, but carried out into the world.

In the form that we construct through sila, we see our desires made naked. Yet our very nature is free, so in the same way we choose to liberate ourselves from that very same desire and live moment to moment, just like in the moment to moment awareness of dhyana. All forms are after all impermanent. Coming and going are only phases of samadhi.

So who knows what Saturn will bring, as it continues the transit of the 12th house, but it does seem to be the clearing up of old forms and the preparation of new ones.

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I think people misunderstand the concept of sudden enlightenment. Satori itself is sudden and fully transformative, but getting to that point can take lifetimes. Buddha himself after making his vow when he first saw Dipankara took a number of lifetimes.

To think that people don’t stumble along the path is naive. We do, we say things that are cutting, we entertain selfish thoughts, we eat things it would be best not to, etc. etc. And that is one of the reasons we must generate compassion towards ourselves, not just towards others.

The other problem is the idea that we are perfecting our nature. In Zen we are not perfecting anything, just preparing the ground for enlightenment.

As a parting thought try this, in the enlightened mind the universe is already whole. There is no difference between you and the universe. As Alan Watts put it The inside and the outside are one. Where is there not Alaya?

Forgive yourself and be free.

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When the sun is in the sign of Sagittarius, the evenings darken and the rain season in Greece starts, creating swampland from previously dry areas. The constellations Cygnus the Swan, Aquila the Eagle, and Lyra rise during this time period.

In this story Hercules task is to rid the marshes of the Stymphalian birds. Cruel, fearce and large with beaks and talons made of brass, they were consuming the crops and killing the inhabitants. And the noise they made was overwhelming. Athena asked Hephaestos to make divine cymbals for Hercules. Covering his ears with pads, he clashed the cymbals together. The din was so loud and awful to the birds that they left in confusion.

I think the point is this. The noise they were making was the noise of the unquieted mind, producing thought forms. Apparently, there were three major birds and lots of smaller ones. The birds were the various thought forms. The major birds were cruel gossip; talk of the self, selfish talk; and casting of pearls before swine.

Paradoxically, the sound that Hercules produced to combat them was the sound of the silence. Sagittarius is the sign of silence.

Before the soul can hear, it must first become deaf to roaring and whispers. Before the soul can comprehend, it must first be united with the silent speaker. For then the soul will hear and remember, and then the inner ear will speak.

The Voice of the Silence, H P Blavatsky

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At the beginning of the transit I started doing psychosynthesis counselling. Saturn through the 12th is said to be preparing the psyche for the next 28 year cycle, or there abouts. Certainly it’s been a time of dealing with what’s been lurking beneath. It’s meant to be a time of removing outworn attachments and dealing with irrational fears. Aren’t all attachments ourworn and fears irrational?

Obviously this is a good time for meditation. And at the moment 40 minutes in the morning seems hardly enough, but in some ways I’m reassured that at least partially I’m dealing with this properly by meditating. The end of next year seems a long way away though. I need to be patient with myself and with the universe.

Even though I’m totally committed I am finding meditation hard work. And as much as it’s hard work it also gives my mind peace. And I guess there’s a clue. Stop seeking, just sit. That’s enlightenment. Or not. It’s so Dogen.

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