$3.

95

RALPH METZNER

Maps ofI Ching, Tantra, Tarot, Alchemy, Astrology,

and Actualism: How they work, how they
may be applied as explorations of the mind,
and what they can contribute to the search
for meaning and growth toward individuality.

Consciousness
MAPS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Ralph Metzner

MAPS OF
CONSCIOUSNESS

1 CH1NG • TANTRA

TAROT • ALCHEMY

ASTROLOGY • ACTUAL1SM

Collier Books
A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
NEW YORK

Collier Macmillan Publishers

LONDON
Copyright © 1971 by Ralph Metzner
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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 78-142346

First Collier Books Edition 1971
Fourth Printing 1976
Maps of Consciousness is also published in a hardcover
edition by Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For quotations from The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, ed. by G. Adler, M.

Fordham, H. Read, translated by R. F. C. Hull, Bollingen Series XX, vol. 13,
Alchemical Studies (copyright © 1967 by Princeton University Press); vol. 14,
Mysterium Coniunctionis (copyright © 1963 by Princeton University Press);
vol. 16, The Practice of Psychotherapy (copyright © 1954 and 1966 by Prince­
ton University' Press); passim quotes are reprinted by permission of Princeton
University Press.
For quotations from the I Ching: or Book of Changes, translated by Richard
Wilhelm, rendered into English by Cary' F. Baynes, Bollingen Series XIX
(copyright © 1950 and 1967 by Princeton University Press); passim quotes
are reprinted by permission of Princeton University Press.
The prose and verse quotations in the Actualism chapter are reprinted by
permission of the author, Russell Paul Schofield. The prose passages quoted are
from an unpublished manuscript “Transmutational Mergence as Taught in the
School of Actualism.” All verse quotations are from Imprint Unmistakable,
published in 1970 in Los Angeles, California. All rights reserved by Russell
Paul Schofield.
Illustrations:
In the I Ching chapter, “Eight Trigrams in Context of Nature” is used courtesy
of Rebekah Lowden.
In the I Ching chapter, "Eight Trigrams in Primal Arrangement” and “Eight
Trigrams in Inner World Arrangement” are used courtesy of Jose and Miriam
Arguelles.
In the Tantra chapter, four photographs are used courtesy of Alan Atwell.
In the Tantra chapter, the illustrations of the mudras adapted for western sit­
ting posture are used courtesy of George Kukar.
In the Tantra chapter, illustration of Siva Ardhanarisbara and, in the Actualism
chapter, Dance of Siva are reprinted courtesy of the Archaeological Survey of
India.
In the Tarot chapter, with the exception of the Empress and the Temperance
cards, which are from the Waite Deck, the Tarot Cards are reproduced from
the B.O.T.A. Deck, by permission of Builders of the Adytum, 5105 Figueroa
Street, Los Angeles, California.
In the Tarot chapter, the cards of the New Tarot are reproduced from T: The
New Tarot, the Tarot for the Aquarian Age, copyright © 1969 by Rosalind
Sharpe Wall and John Star Cooke. By permission of Western Star Press.
In the Astrology chapters, geometric diagrams and charts are used courtesy of
Wes Buist of Technical Graphics, San Francisco, California.
In the Astrology II chapter, original drawings “Three Water Signs” and “Three
Fire Signs” are used courtesy of Emile Pierre.
This hook is dedicated to

The teacher—who provided the keys—

and to
Rebekah—most precious counterpart—
and to
You, dear reader—in the hope that you may find
in it something of what you seek—
and to
God-Children everywhere
with
Light and Joy
 PREFACE
This book is an exploration of consciousness. other methods of changing consciousness and
In such a venture we necessarily confront the expanding awareness, including oriental yoga,
limiting effects of fixed mental, emotional, per­ Gurdjieff’s self-observation, Reichian bioener­
ceptual, and behavioral patterns, conditioned getics, Gestalt therapy, psychosynthesis, en­
into each level of consciousness. Maps and tech­ counter groups, psychodrama, and others. I
niques, devised to free consciousness from these found most of these methods valuable in some
limitations, are the subject of this book. Since I ways, but limited.
cannot pretend to be completely free of bias, it During this time, the writings by and about
is only fair to the reader to make clear some of Gurdjieff were a constant source of inspiration.
these factors which have influenced my own Also very valuable and illuminating were the
thinking so that any remaining bias can be “up works of Buckminster Fuller, Teilhard de
front.” Chardin, Hermann Hesse, Wilhelm Reich, Carl
Fifteen years ago, at Oxford, I studied the Jung, Lama Govinda, Aldous Huxley, Alan
linguistic philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Watts, Frank Herbert, Joan Grant, and of
Gilbert Rvle, John Austin, and their followers. course, the incomparable I Clung.
Wittgenstein once said, “Philosophy is the dis­ About three years ago, some unusual personal
ease for which it should be the cure.” This experiences began to steer me in the direction
taught me respect for the perplexities of the of what is known as the “psychic” or the “oc­
relationship between experience and language. cult”—an area academically unfashionable, but
Later at Harvard, I imbibed heavy doses of otherwise very popular. I began to see how
psychoanalysis and behaviorist learning theory, astrology, the Tarot, and others of the esoteric
which I found a rather unpalatable and in­ systems were originally intended to be used as
digestible mixture at the time. Both interests maps for the path of the evolutionary develop­
came abruptly to an end, when, in March 1961, ment of consciousness.
I took my first psychedelic drug. I shall always In 1968 I met Russell Paul Schofield and since
be grateful to Harvard for providing me with that time I have had the privilege of being a
that extremely educational experience. student of Agni Yoga as taught in the School of
During the next six years I explored the Actualism, of which he is the founder. From him
extraordinary inner worlds opened up for me and Carol Ann Schofield I have learned more
by the psychedelics. I learned a very great deal than I could even begin to enumerate. This book
from these experiences, and from the many has benefited immeasurably from their wisdom,
fellow-explorers who allowed me to share them; and from the perspectives which the practice of
especially from those two remarkable individu­ the methods they teach has opened up.
als Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (now Valley Center, California
Baba Ram Dass). I also investigated various Spring Equinox, 1970
CONTENTS
Preface vii
INTRODUCTION: The New Renaissance 1
1 CHING: Change—The Evolutionary Constant 14
TANTRA: The Exaltation of Experience 30
TAROT: Signposts on the Way 54
ALCHEMY: The Chemistry of Inner Union 83
ASTROLOGY I: The Celestial Scenario 106
ASTROLOGY II: The Planetary Perspective 121

ACTUALISM: The Actual Design of Man as a Cosmic Being 141

MAPS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
INTRODUCTION
The New Renaissance It is becoming increasingly evident

that today we are living in a period of spiritual

renewal. Just as the European Renaissance of five
hundred years ago was marked by a sudden, dra­
Let him who seeks, not cease seeking until matic extension of physical exploration and an
equally profound extension of perception leading
he finds, and when he finds, he will be to a spectacular flowering of the arts and sci­
troubled, and when he has been troubled, ences, so now again we are witnessing the simul­
taneous expansion of our world in both outer and
he will marvel. . . inner directions. Emerging out of the darkness of
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THOMAS the machine-dominated industrial age into the
speed and brilliance of the electronic epoch, man
has, for the first time, physically left Earth’s grav­
ity field and reaches for the stars. At the same
time, enlightened with a new clarity of per­
ception, man faces with amazement the vast, un­
explored interior spaces that open up beyond the
hitherto accepted yet artificially created bound­
aries of his consciousness.
The new renaissance greatly exceeds the old
in range and depth, for it is no longer a question
of simply expanding our inner and outer hori­
zons. We are completing a cycle: the era of
partial views, of divisive ideas and ideologies is
waning. The first photographs of the whole earth
returned from space signaled the beginning of
the new cycle of all-inclusiveness: there she
hung like a blue-green jewel in the velvet black
of deep space, laced with sparkling atmospheric
veils—our spaceship, our mother, our planet. The
world is one. We are all together now.
The vision of the unity of our physical world
has been repeatedly proclaimed in our time. On
the basis of his evolutionary studies, Teilhard de
Chardin, the eminent French Jesuit paleontolo-
[ 2 ] Maps of Consciousness

gist, formulated the concept of the noosphere: Nature out of context. Following this concept,
the thought field of the planet, which inter­ one side believes we must fight to prove we are
penetrates and extends beyond the biosphere the fittest, we must have an “aggressive sales
and atmosphere. Having developed as a natural campaign” (note the military metaphors). The
extension of the evolutionary process, because other half of the world, caught in the same basic
“the consciousness of each of us is evolution fear mechanisms, follows Marx’s analysis of a
looking at itself and reflecting,” the noosphere is small segment of European industrial history and
developing toward a state of concentrated yet generalizes it wildly: “The workers (or rather
highly differentiated unity which Teilhard called we, their representatives) should be in control
the “omega point.”1 Marshall McLuhan has of the wealth.” Power control motivated by fear;
pointed out how the impact of our electronic fear due to perceived scarcity: perceived scarcity
technology, which allows instant information due to shortsighted separateness and possessive­
feedback all over the planet, is placing us, ness; possessiveness based in part on ancient
whether we know it or not, in “the global vil­ animal territorial instincts. “I have, you have not,
lage.” Television, “the third parent,” has brought stay away”; or: “I have not, you have, hand it
the Vietnamese farmer into the American living over.”
room, and our social consciousness is no longer The conflicts and disunity in the outer world
national, but tribal.2 R. Buckminster Fuller, the mirror the fragmentation and separative chaos
Leonardo of the new renaissance, for years has within our personal nature. Here is where psy­
been advocating and demonstrating that to con­ chology comes in, or rather should come in, but
sider man’s environmental problems from the unfortunately does not. What is man’s nature that
point of view of synergistic, comprehensive de­ he is driven thus to fight, to kill, to blind himself
sign science will enable us to overcome the rich- to the perception of his own divinity? Is he really
versus-poor differential that our obsolete, nation­ the killer-ape with an oversize brain, run amok,
alist, local separatist points of view have origi­ as some would have it? Or is he the victim of a
nated and maintained. Fuller says: “Synergy sort of phylogenetic psychosis? Is homo sapiens
(the principle that the behavior of wholes is an evolutionary mistake, soon to be discarded on
more than the sum of its parts) is of the essence. Nature’s rubbish heap, like other species that
Only under the stress of total social emergencies failed to adapt? Has he flubbed his role in the
as thus far demonstrated by man do the effec­ evolutionary drama and destroyed the scenery of
tively adequate alternative technical strategies the ecological theater to such an extent that the
synergetically emerge. Here we witness mind production will have to be .canceled?
over matter and humanity’s escape from the These are the questions the new renaissance
limitations of his exclusive identity only with man is asking. There must be significance in all
some sovereignized circumscribed geographical this madness, one feels.4 If “consciousness is
locality.” 3 evolution looking at itself and reflecting,” per­
The vision of unity is here and is shared by haps we will still have a chance. Perhaps the
many, the possibilities and the resources exist, visions of the prophets of unity represent the ray
yet the reality is that some eat and some starve; of hope emerging at last from Pandora’s box of
everyone wants peace, yet there is war; we pro­ destructive emotions and obsessions. There is a
claim freedom and equality, yet we practice groping and probing going on, a testing of new
oppression and separation. Our minds and per­ methods of furthering consciousness evolution.
ceptions may be experiencing a renaissance, but There is restless impatience with external solu­
our emotions and behavior still respond to the tions, superficial and transient because they are
old separative fixations. “There is not enough to based on obsolete perceptions. There is growing
go around,” say our old animal fears, rational­ awareness and amazement at the realization, as
ized by Malthus and his modern successors. yet inchoate and partial, that the answers are
“Only the fittest survive,” says Darwin, quoting within us, that the inner guide, the Immortal
 Introduction [ 3 ]

Self, is here, within you and me, ready to teach avowed program of many of the so-called fathers
and waiting to be heard. of modern psychology. Wilhelm Wundt, Gustav
One of the world’s most beautiful poetic meta­ Fechner, and Edward Titchener all initiated
phors for this situation is given in the first chap­ projects in systematic introspection and the ex­
ter of the Bhagavad Gita. Here is Arjuna, who is perimental analysis of subjective sensation and
you and I, the human ego, in his chariot on the feeling states. But these projects came to an end
battlefield. The entire Bhagavad Gita, or “Song very soon when the observers encountered ma­
of God,” is sung in the midst of this battlefield of terial of the sort now called resistances or com­
life, as a dialogue between Arjuna and his chari­ plexes, that is, thoughts, feelings, or sensations
oteer Krishna, who is an incarnation of Vishnu, surrounded by something similar to a negative
the Almighty Preserver of the Universe. Arrayed force field that prevents further direct awareness
against Arjuna are the legions of his enemies, without outside intervention.
among whom are his brothers, his parents, his The inseparable interaction of the process of
teachers, his erstwhile friends. All the imprints observation with the phenomena oberved, which
and false-to-fact images that have been implanted is expressed in the physical sciences in Heisen­
in him, all the emotional ties with the nearest berg’s indeterminacy principle, is of course of
and dearest, are now obstacles that have to be paramount importance in psycholog)' where the
dissolved if he is to follow the way (the yoga) phenomena to be observed are the observer’s
to the understanding of truth. “And a man’s foes own subjective states. Yet we find that the per­
shall be they of his own household” (Matt. II: vasive and fundamental distortions of perception
36). Throughout the ensuing battles, Krishna, the caused by ego factors and personality-bound per­
Higher Self, is the counsellor, the wise friend, spectives are very rarely recognized by the ob­
who does not get involved in the struggle with server in himself, though it is frequently enough
externals but who holds the reins of the chariot pointed out and analyzed in other, so-called
and guides Arjuna to the goal by “inner di­ sick individuals, whose distortions happen to be
rection.” 5 somewhat more crippling and idiosyncratic than
The ancient literatures of India and China are most.
replete with formulations containing beauty, wis­ Ancient psychological training institutes,
dom, and psychological insight. Yet often their known as mystery schools, recognized the im­
texts are alien and inaccessible to the Western possibility of overcoming the artificially created
mind. Our yoga, our way to the truth, has been yet effectively imprinted distortions and limita­
science: systematic observation and experimenta­ tions of consciousness without the help of a
tion. Using this method we have gained consider­ teacher who had already overcome these same
able understanding of and control over the limitations. As G. I. Gurdjieff, a modem teacher
external forces of Nature. We have made no in the esoteric tradition, phrased it: “A man can­
corresponding progress in our understanding not awaken by himself. But if, let us say, twenty
of the laws of our own inner nature; and this lack people make an agreement that whoever of them
of corresponding development is now making it­ awakens first shall wake the rest, they already
self felt in drastic and painful ways as we have some chance. Even this, however, is in­
awaken to the intimate ecological relationships sufficient because all twenty can go to sleep
between our own technological activity patterns at the same time and dream that they are waking
and the larger macropattemings of Great Nature up. Therefore more still is necessary. They must
herself. be looked after by a man who is not asleep or
The notion that it is possible to approach the who does not fall asleep as easily as they do ...” 6
understanding of the psyche with the same scien­ It is of course possible that an individual will
tific attitude that is used in the study of the awaken accidentally or spontaneously and begin
physical world has been unfashionable in psy­ to perceive phenomena not perceived by the
chology for some time. However, this was the majority of those around him. Gustav Fechner,
[ 4 ] Maps of Consciousness

for example, damaged his eyes by repeatedly less verbiage, when I began to notice that min­
gazing at the sun with inadequate filters while gled in with the rest of the material were images
performing his experiments on sensation. During and associations that I was silently experiencing.
the subsequent year, which he had to spend in Indeed, the inability to distinguish their own
total darkness, he apparently broke through to a thoughts and fantasies from the equally vividly
level of consciousness which allowed him, when perceived thoughts and fantasies of others is part
he returned outside, to perceive energy fields of the reason for the schizophrenic terror.
around plants and animals. He had what is usu­ AH of the above considerations apply also to
ally called a mystical experience, an experience the temporary state of extended perception and
of union with the Creator, and he spent the rest awareness induced by psychedelic drugs. For
of his life attempting to give quantitative ex­ someone whose ego concept is sufficiently flexible
pression to these newly perceived relationships; to assimilate them, the experiences can provide
an unsuccessful effort which resulted in that un­ valuable insight into his own psychic processes
inspiring branch of modern psychology known and the factors obstructing his growth. For some­
as “psychophysics.” 7 one whose self-images are dominated bv fear and
Other individuals who have expanded per­ defensiveness, or who is given the experience
ception, either as a natural development from without adequate preparation or support, the
childhood on or acquired accidently through drugs can produce more or less temporary dis­
some kind of shock experience, will, if they are organizing and destructive effects.
able to integrate their perceptions into the image
they have of themselves, use their ability in Psychological change-
artistic expression or as professional mediums, con tem porary approach es
clairvoyants, and the like. Again others may
utilize their unusual gifts in regular professions Although there have been and are in the West
such as business or medicine. Shafica Karagulla numerous individuals who have opened the
has documented numerous instances of business­ “doors of perception” and seen beyond—artists,
men and physicians who were clairvoyant or pre- mystics, saints, and sensitives—yet a truly scien­
cognitive, some of whom did not even know their tific school of psychophysical transformation has
perceptions were unusual, and all of whom were not operated openly since the time of Pytha­
understandably noncommunicative about them.8 goras. The essence of the scientific method is
There are, of course, individuals who are un­ verifiable and repeatable observation, either in
able to integrate expanded perception into their natural settings or in specially arranged experi­
self-concept, and in whom it produces dissocia­ mental settings. Unless an individual is able to
tion of personality to such an extent that the demonstrate the observation he has made, it
person’s relationships with external realitv are cannot become part of scientific data. Hence the
either severely crippled and blocked, as in neu­ need of a teacher, who can teach not theories but
rosis, or totally disorganized, as in psychosis. methods: methods that will reliably give results
The hypersensitivity of the neurotic patient is and enable others to perceive the same phe­
in one way the cause of his distress and inner nomena and relationships.
conflict, while at the same time it can become his No such teacher or methods were available to
greatest asset in his growth as an individual. All the early introspectionist school of psychology,
practicing psychologists, Freud and Jung in­ so their observations were unrepeatable and
cluded, derived many of their most important hence led to naught. From this failure, and from
insights from their patients’ perceptions. Equally, a mistaken analogy to physics, the Behaviorist
schizophrenics are often demonstrably telepathic school, which in one form or another still domi­
and “psychic.” I well recall sitting opposite a nates American psychology, drew the erroneous
schizophrenic girl in a state hospital listening to conclusion that objective observation of sub­
her disconnected stream of apparently meaning­ jective states is impossible, and that the only sci­
 Introduction [ 5 ]

entifically valid data are the recordable physical others, was ground-breaking detective work that
movements and verbal marks and utterances of enabled one to trace the historical origin of many
others. In fact, as already pointed out, such ob­ neurotic and psychotic symptoms to particular
servation is possible, but to be objective about inner or outer events of childhood. His delinea­
ones inner states requires the difficult, lengthy, tion of the stages of development—through oral,
and poorly understood process of freeing oneself anal, phallic, and genital phases—was evidently
from inherited and acquired perceptual images valid in broad outline and confirmable by other
and mechanisms. investigators. From an Actualist viewpoint
This process of liberation is the central con­ though, his work was limited to the human, the
cern of schools of transformation in ancient and body, and the organ levels of consciousness,
modern times. And once this step has been omitting both higher and lower levels.
taken, once we are able to recognize accurately Freud was the type of person who liked to
our own inner states, it is also possible, contrary build mental systems and structures, and the
to what Behaviorist-inspired psychology teaches, various syntheses of his ideas, which he con­
to make reliable observations about the inner tinually devolped and revised during his lifetime,
states of others. Everyone knows that we can bear witness to the fertility of his creative im­
often tell, with “intuition,” what another is feel­ agination. But, since they were often based on
ing without being told. Dr. Karagulla, from her data and observations that he had neither the
extensive interview studies of sensitives, reports inclination nor the ability to verify and confirm,
that such individuals are consistently able to see they have not been widely accepted except by
three sets of force fields around any person: a those who prefer to let others do their observing
vital field,” which reflects the state of health or and thinking for them. His followers and disci­
disease of the organism; an “emotional field,” ples all developed divergent theories and points
which varies with the nature and intensity of of view based on the equally unverified and
feeling; and a “mental field,” which reflects the unverifiable observations they made.
mental activity level of the person observed.0 The weak point in Freud’s entire work was of
All sensitives agree unanimously that their abili­ course the method, the technique of “free associ­
ties are merely extensions of faculties potential ation,” which is actually not free at all since it
within everyone, that they are not “paranormal.” follows the fixed patterns of neurotic mechan­
The techniques of the school of Actualism are isms. These mechanisms, originally programmed
resigned to actualize these potentials, to free per­ as defense mechanisms, have become, through
ception from imprinted images so that awareness associative processes linking them with false-to-
can expand into the many levels of consciousness fact images, destructive rather than defensive.
that lie beyond our usual awareness. The free association technique, which consists of
Besides Behaviorism, the other major influence a passive following of associative processes, en­
in modem psychology is of course Freud and ables one to trace the connections and relation­
psychoanalysis, and it is to Freud’s credit that he ships between instinctual impulses and defense
took the bull by the horns and grappled with the mechanisms, and to uncover feelings and ideas
problems of resistance and defense mechanisms which had been kept hidden, sometimes from
directly. In so doing he came upon the then early childhood. But unfortunately the method,
astounding, though now commonplace, fact that even when supplemented by the analyst’s inter­
there are many things going on in our psyches of pretations, did not free one from these mecha­
which we are not aware, even though they in­ nisms. The analyzed patient could relate the
fluence our thoughts, our feelings, our behavior, whole history of his neurosis but not be one iota
both voluntary and especially involuntary, and closer to overcoming it. The statistical studies
our dreams. His analysis and identification of the done by Eysenck and others demonstrate un­
defense mechanisms of repression, denial, isola­ equivocally that psychoanalysis did no better
tion, projection, displacement, conversion, and than the mere passage of time in curing a
[ 6 ] Maps of Consciousness

patient. (In all fairness it must be added that sights without getting caught in his life-negating
other methods of psychotherapy have been theories.
statistically demonstrated to be equally ineffec­ In particular, Wilhelm Reich was able to shed
tive.) Which is not to say that breakthroughs in light on the problem of masochism by showing
understanding do not occur, or that patients may that the desire for pain infliction can be seen
not often feel better, or even become better ad­ as the individual’s attempt to free the expression
justed to reality. Freud himself was very much of the core erotic energy by forcibly cracking the
aware of the limitations of his technique. His last protective “muscular armor” which prevents this
paper on method was entitled “Analysis Termi­ expression, from the outside.11 In other words, it
nable and Interminable,” and he speculated on represents the individual’s attempt to free himself
the possibility of using chemicals as an adjunct to from defense mechanisms that have become ob­
psychoanalysis, because he recognized that the structions. Intense pain can at least overcome
“transference” relationship of doctor and patient deadness or the absence of sensation, and under
in the office simply did not generate enough certain conditions may temporarily switch to in­
energy to effectively dislodge the highly charged tense pleasure. The masochist’s maneuver is how­
cathexes (literally “holding forces”) that were ever a misguided act of despair, since it
involved in the neurosis.10 strengthens the armor it intends to break. The
I find no evidence in Freud’s writings that he only permanent “solution” is to amplify the basic
ever broke through to the unitive perception of core love energy so that it can “dissolve” the
the continuity and interconnectedness of all life, armor from the inside.
or to the ecstatic freedom that comes from recog­ Reich made significant advances from Freud in
nizing the acquired personal relativity of one’s both theory and method. He was not content to
concepts and beliefs. In fact, his formulations sit behind the patient and record and interpret
tended to become more deeply pessimistic as his associations and repressions. Instead he
time went on. Originally he had stated that there turned around to face the patient to determine
was a basic clash between the “pleasure prin­ by direct observation what was happening to the
ciple” and the “reality principle,” and in Civiliza­ energy that was being repressed or denied. By
tion and its Discontents he argued that the doing this he made the important discovery that
repression or suppression of pleasure was the the defense mechanisms are literally incorpo­
price we had to pay for the “reality” of culture. rated, that is, fixed into the bodily structures, a
Conversely then, the highest manifestations of process he termed “armoring.” “The armored in­
human art, creativity and religion, were inter­ dividual is distinguished from the unarmored
preted as sublimations of the sex instinct. Later, basically by the fact that there is a rigid wall be­
in Beyond the Pleasure Principle, attempting to tween his biological core from which all natural
explain the phenomenon of masochism, he was impulses arise, and the world, in which he lives
led to postulate an instinctual duality of life and works.” 12 Character structure itself is func­
versus death forces within man. This theoretical tionally equivalent to muscular armor, and not
formulation essentially represents a capitulation only is the skeletal musculature armored, but
of the integrative tendencies within the organ­ the muscles of the internal organs, the circu­
ism; the masochistic mechanism which “per­ latory, respiratory, reproductive, and digestive
verts,” literally “turns aside,” the basic generative systems can also be armored, giving rise to the
life energy, is elevated to the status of a cosmic, whole host of psychosomatic and somatopsychic
insurmountable principle. Many of Freud’s fol­ disturbances and deficits. Further, Reich found
lowers refused to accept the eros-thanatos that direct work with the bodily armor simul­
theory, and several modern commentators, espe­ taneous with analysis of the character structure
cially Herbert Marcuse in Eros and Civilization (a method he termed “bio-energetics” or “vegeto-
and Norman O. Brown in Life Against Death, therapy”) provided much more effective release
have attempted to salvage Freud’s valuable in­ from energy blocks than analysis alone.
 Introduction [ 7 ]

The role of the body as the registering instru­ by its absence in both Freud and Reich, and in­
ment of psychic energy and its distortions is deed in the majority of modern psychologists
recognized implicitly in many colloquial expres­ with the notable exception of Carl Jung. Jung,
sions such as “up-tight,” “pain in the neck,” on the other hand, came from a mother-domi­
“heavy heart,” “having no guts,” “stiff upper lip,” nated family with a strong religious background
or “spineless.” Reich’s pioneering research in (his father was a Swiss protestant minister), so
this area has led to some of the most effective he did not share Freud’s distrust and fear of
contemporary psychotherapeutic methods. For religion as something “occult.” On the contrary,
example, Alexander Lowen, a student of Reich’s, he was able to open his mind and accept the
in his book Betrayal of the Body, has given ideas and images of Christianity and many other
brilliant and detailed analyses of the body lan­ religions and mythologies as affording valuable
guage of various types such as the hysteric, insights into psychological processes.
the obsessive, the masochistic, and the schizoid. The key concept in Jung’s entire psychology, to
Fritz Peris, the author of Gestalt Therapy and a me, is “individuation”: the idea that it is possible
student of both Freud and Reich, has developed to become an “individual,” not in the sense of
a way of increasing the patient’s total awareness someone who wants to be different and separate
of the here-and-now by highlighting the involun­ from others, but in the literal and original sense
tary bodily gestures, postures, and sensations that of someone who is “in-divisible,” that is whole.
normally are part of the unrecognized back­ The individuated person would indeed be differ­
ground of experience, and which, when brought ent from others and stand out, but because of
into awareness, can cause sudden shifts in one’s his rarity not his idiosyncrasies. This process of
perception, and integrative rearrangings of frag­ individuation was considered by Jung from sev­
mented elements of consciousness. The burgeon­ eral different aspects. In his theory of types he
ing interest in body work of all kinds, from Ida proposed that the integration of the personality
Rolf’s “structural integration,” Charlotte Selver's would be furthered if the four functions—think­
and Bernard Gunther’s “sensory awareness,” to ing, feeling, sensing, and intuiting—were all well
various kinds of breathing, massage, and move­ developed and equally accessible as modes of
ment therapy, indicate that the paramount relationship to the world. In his theory of “the
importance of the body in the process of evolu­ shadow,” Jung pointed at the need to integrate
tionary growth and development is beginning to the “dark,” unacknowledged aspects of one’s
be recognized. As The Jewel Ornament of Liber­ nature. The shadow is the personified alter ego
ation, a medieval Tibetan Tantric Buddhist text that exemplifies all the traits we reject in our­
noted: “The working basis is the most precious selves and project onto others. “Projections
human body.” 13 change the world into the replica of one’s own
In spite of Reich’s pioneering genius, it is unknown face.” 15
evident from the intense rage he expressed to­ Projection of the shadow is especially rampant
ward his wife and from the paranoid tendencies on a mass scale in the relations between the
he developed in his dealings with the federal races, where the differential skin color provides
government, that there were certain aspects of a convenient smoke screen hiding the true nature
his own character armor that he was unable to of the process. Whites project onto Blacks the
resolve.14 Like Freud, Reich came from a male- feared and hated “dark” aspects of their nature,
dominated family in a patriarchal society, and particularly violence and sexuality; conversely
neither recognized the need for integrating the the Blacks see in Whites the oppressive and ex­
masculine and feminine components of the per­ ploitative attitudes with which they themselves
sonality in order to attain unitary consciousness. have blocked their creative and productive ac­
In fact, the notion of unification or wholeness as tivity. The fact that there is an aspect of “reality”
a state to be attained beyond the cure of neurotic to these perceptions only further hides the
or schizoid symptoms is one that is conspicuous mechanism of projection.
[ 8 ] Maps of Consciousness

The crucial importance of the need to with­ as a special case of Jung’s theory in which the
draw and neutralize projections in the process sexual aspect of the anima is the first of four
of personality integration has often been stated. stages through which this archetype can progress
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras one of the “eight in psychological development. Similarly, the so-
limbs” of yoga is pratyahara, the freeing of called Electra complex in women is one, though
perceptual activity from the binding forces not the only, constellation of images in which the
(samskdras) that link it to external objects. In animus can manifest itself. The programs im­
the “dream work” of Peris’ Gestalt therapy the printed by parents in the psyche of the child,
patient is instructed to “play” or “be” the both those deliberately inculcated through edu­
various characters in his dream, on the assump­ cation and those imposed unknowingly by un­
tion that the figures are unacknowledged facets conscious emotional factors, can appear in
of the dreamer’s nature, and by owning the re­ numerous guises and forms. Jung saw that in
jected and projected fragments he can integrate mythology and fairy tales there exist many of the
them and hence free himself from their obstruc­ dramatic themes and variations, the comedies
tive influence in his life. and tragedies which these images enact in the
A primary role in the process of individuation, psyche of man, portrayed in most vivid and perti­
as Jung saw it, is played by the “anima” and nent ways.
“animus,” personifications of the feminine nature Jung made a significant advance in recog­
of a man, and the masculine nature of a woman. nizing and formulating man’s psychological bi­
“Every man carries within him the eternal image sexuality and man’s tendency to personify images
of woman, not the image of this or that particu­ in both masculine and feminine forms. Yet Jung’s
lar woman, but a definitive feminine image. This concepts of polarity remained always on the
image is fundamentally unconscious, an heredi­ purely symbolic level. Though he explored the
tary factor of primordial origin engraved in the concept of the union of opposites, the mijsterium
living organic system of the man, an imprint or conjunctionis, through his four volumes on
‘archetype’ of all the ancestral experiences of alchemy and innumerable studies of mythology,
the female, a deposit, as it were, of all the im­ religion, and mystical philosophy, there is in
pressions ever made by woman.” 10 According Jung’s writings an almost glaring lacuna: he
to Jung, the anima and animus archetypes mani­ never considers the body.
fest themselves most typically in personified form Jung, like Freud, was limited by his technique,
as figures in dreams and fantasies (“dream girl,” or rather the absence of it. He saw the process of
“dream lover”), or in the irrationalities of a individuation occurring spontaneously, induced
man’s feeling and a woman’s thinking. “In its bv “the Unconscious,” which could produce help­
primary ‘unconscious’ form the animus is a ful images as well as demonic ones; and he
compound of spontaneous, unpremeditated opin­ noted that the increasing centeredness of the
ions which exercise a powerful influence on the psyche during psychotherapy was signaled by
woman’s emotional life, while the anima is the appearance in dreams of circular mandala
similarly compounded of feelings which there­ symbols. The therapist’s strategy in Jungian ther­
after influence or distort the man’s understanding apy is not analytic-reductive; instead the pa­
(‘she has turned his head’).”17 From this role tient’s dreams and fantasies are related to mythic
of distorting images, the anima and animus themes and symbols, hoping thereby to illumi­
archetypes could progress to the role of guide, nate ordinary experience and show the poten­
or mediator with the “collective unconscious,” tially larger, integrative healing aspects. For this
i.e., they could become constructive integrative reason, many of Jung’s works, read much like
factors if they were recognized and understood. annotated anthologies of quotations and pictures
The primary determinants of anima and ani­ from the world’s limitless riches of psychological
mus are of course the parents. This allows us images and ideas. The technique of the “guided
to see Freud’s theory of the Oedipus complex reverie,” especially as developed by Roberto
 Introduction [ 9 ]

Assagioli in his Psychosynthesis, is an extension some would have it, a fascination with obscurity
of this principle: certain basic symbols that have and mystery; rather, it is the recognition that
been found to resonate to deep and transforming there is much that is obscure in the pseudoclarity
forces are used to initiate streams of associations of our rational world-view, and the attempt to
leading to enlarged and healing perspectives.18 shed light on these obscurities by taking into
In this brief and sketchy survey of contempo­ consideration consciousness factors generally
rary methods of psychological change, we may omitted and denied.
mention briefly the techniques of behavior With very few exceptions, contemporary ex­
therapy and hypnosis. These are oriented strictly oteric psychology is still pretty much restricted to
toward the removal of a maladaptive cognitive, a point of view that sees normality or adjustment
or behavioral habit and its substitution by an as the goal of psychological change. Even the
adaptive, that is, socially more acceptable habit. so-called encounter group movement, which has
Such methods, which are of considerable value in developed powerful techniques for bringing hid­
certain situations, have little in common with the den conflicts and image entrapments into aware­
techniques of total transformation practiced in ness, has no formulations of meaning or purpose.
esoteric psychology schools. Here the aim is not We are involved in evolutionary processes,
to substitute one habit for another, but to free and we have exquisite computer capabilities as
oneself of habits altogether, not to hypnotize the instruments for evolutionary growth and de­
oneself with a better image or imprint, but to de- velopment. The esoteric psychological schools,
hypnotize oneself from the images and imprints as well as some of the oriental ones, have main­
already there. tained the knowledge of the Higher, Immortal
Even the more sophisticated psychological Self, the Krishna-consciousness, or Christ-
systems such as those of Jung or Reich have consciousness, which is the teacher-knower
generally only perceived and formulated a one­ within who can guide the person’s evolutionary
sided, incomplete perspective of the actual growth toward individuality. Concepts of what is
situation. The contemporary seeker for self-trans- “normal,” or “right,” or “should be,” are all
formation is likely to find, in the techniques of image-obstructions to our receptive perception
Reich and related methods of bodvJ awareness of what actually is; which can only be learned by
and Gestalt therapy, increased perception of listening-looking-sensing within. “For the king­
and sensitivity to the flow of energy and the dom of heaven is within you,” and the goal of
obstructions of that flow which operate in the path of evolutionary growth and develop­
psychophysical systems. In Jungian methods, in ment, according to the most ancient and sacred
psychosynthesis, and in guided imagery one teachings, is to learn to follow the inner direction
works with transformation symbols and with of the Higher Self, so that we can externalize the
higher perspectives; these are basically limited to divinity within, and it will “be on earth as it is in
the mental-imaginal processes with no linkup to heaven.”
the body and lower levels of consciousness.
In neither of these traditions is there any con­ The way of transformation-
ception of levels of consciousness of a higher maps and manuals
rate of frequency than that which we normally
register in awareness. Yet the experiencing of If we use the analogy of a journey or path to
these higher frequency levels of consciousness is consider the process of psychological transforma­
becoming not uncommon, especially since the tion to the level of individuality, we can perhaps
advent of psychedelics. So we find people turn­ arrive at some conclusions as to the requirements
ing to oriental and occult psychology for hints for such a process. The best way of proceeding
and clues to these other dimensions. The interest on a long and difficult journey into unknown ter­
in the “occult,” which simply means the “hidden” ritory is with a guide. Claudio Naranjo has writ­
or the “academically unfashionable,” is not, as ten: “The teacher-therapist-guide is the person
[ 10 ] Maps of Consciousness

who, by virtue of his own individual understand­ the path ahead or to amplify the effects of medi­
ing of a system, may help another individual in tative methods. The use of these substances per
the process of creative translation of the general se of course implies nothing about the goal or
into the particular, of the way into a given, method, and they can and frequently are taken
unique way. Each individual is, as it were, a for purposes other than enlightenment, and with
variation on a universal theme, and a teacher results quite other than and perhaps even op­
is one with enough insight into the theme to posite to inner growth.
know how the idea may become flesh and Among other external aids and adjuncts that
deed.” 19 Genuine teachers however are hard to are beginning to be researched and explored, we
find and there is a phase where the individual is might mention the possibilities of EEG feedback.
probing, testing, and experimenting with differ­ In these devices certain kinds of brain waves are
ent ways and means in order to find the one that linked to an external signal such as a tone. If
works for him. During this stage maps are use­ the “alpha” brain wave is registered the tone is
ful, and that is why in recent years there has on, if not, the tone is off. In this way, the pres­
been such an upsurge of interest in the old maps ence of the tone becomes an index of the “one-
of evolutionary development. pointedness” which is an essential aspect of all
There is an important difference between a methods of meditation and concentration. As
map and a model or theory. A model or theory soon as concentration is lost, the tone goes off,
states that “Man is like this, he learns this way, so that the student has immediate feedback; in­
perceives like this, and thinks and acts according stead of the usual situation, in which several
to these laws.” All Western psychology, insofar minutes may elapse before he realizes that he has
as it has theories at all, is of this type. A map on been daydreaming or thinking instead of medi­
the other hand is pragmatic, it is designed to tating.20
help us find our way. It says: “Look at it this Sensory isolation environments of the kind re­
way and observe the results”; or, “Try this searched by John Lilly can also be used to
procedure and the following experiences will heighten clear perception of inner states by re­
occur.” Much oriental psychology and esoteric ducing the “noise” of external sensory input.21
systems such as those of Gurdjieff are of this Yantras and mandalas can be used to provide
type. They imply a model of man oriented external support in the form of diagrams for cer­
toward this goal. Often they include instructions tain kinds of visualization techniques, and were
for the practice of certain psychological tech­ so used in the tantric system. Undoubtedly, the
niques. However, since the techniques are gener­ inventive ingenuity of Western technology can
ally held to be learnable only directly from a and will, in the years to come, contribute many
teacher, the technical indications are usually more such external adjuncts to the “Great Work”
coded in a language accessible only to those who from which it has for so long been divorced.
have, through a teacher, already had practical
experience of the technique. They serve there­ In studying and comparing the different maps
fore more as reminders. It is a characteristic of described and discussed in this book it might be
such systems that they are written on many useful to keep in mind the distinction between
levels, and each student will derive from them two principal modes of mental functioning and
what information he can assimilate according to communication, that is, by concrete images
his level of understanding. (visual symbols) on the one hand, and by ab­
In addition to maps and methods it is useful to stract, conceptual symbols (words and sounds)
reflect on and explore the possibilities of external on the other. Indian philosophy referred to this
aids or adjuncts to the work of inner transforma­ as nama (name) and rupa (form). G. I. Gurd­
tion. For example, so-called psychedelic sub­ jieff described the difference as follows:
stances, by temporarily enhancing perception in
certain ways, can be used to give a preview of Man has in general two kinds of mentation: one
 Introduction [ 11 ]

kind, mentation by thought, in which words, always for purposes of energy processing and transform­
possessing a relative sense, are employed; the other ation. In his monograph The Human Biocom­
kind, which is proper to all animals as well as to puter, John Lilly has developed a rather
man, which I would call “mentation by form.” The sophisticated model of brain-mind-body inter­
second kind of mentation, that is mentation by form, action, based on neurophysiological data, as well
by which, strictly speaking, the exact sense of all as sensory isolation and LSD research. He sees
writing must also be perceived, and after conscious
psychedelic substances as “reprogramming” de­
confrontation with information already possessed, be
assimilated, is formed in people in dependence upon
vices, means by which “higher” or “self” levels
the conditions of geographical locality, climate, time, of the biocomputer can “debug” lower level pro­
and in general, upon the whole environment in grams. A hierarchical, multilevel structure of
which the arising of the given man has proceeded consciousness is basic to this model, as it is to all
and in which his existence has flowed to manhood.22 the various maps and systems considered in this
book. It is a notion that is fairly rare in Western
Since the researches of Francis Galton it has been especially academic psychology, which at most,
known that people tend to be either visualizers recognizes only two levels of consciousness, one
or verbalizers, and Barbara Brown has shown of which is misleadingly labeled “unconscious.”
that these two kinds of people show different (The so-called pre-conscious and sub-conscious
brain wave responses to color stimuli and to are not strictly different levels, but rather differ­
LSD.23 One simple test of the difference is to ent areas of consciousness.)
swing a pendulum in front of someone’s eyes Buckminster Fuller pointed out that “there is
for a minute or so, then ask them to shut their one outstandingly important fact regarding
eyes and remember the swing of the pendulum: Spaceship Earth, and that is that no instruction
visualizers’ eyes will move, verbalizers’ won’t. It book came with it.” 25 An even more fundamental
is not as generally recognized that both kinds of lack is that no instruction book came with the
“mentation” can be equally developed in an in­ human biocomputer, so that we have to figure it
dividual and for complete comprehension, as out or leam it from others. As we work with
Gurdieff points out, both are necessary. consciousness maps we develop operating manu­
There is a corresponding distinction in the als for the human computer. We can leam how to
design of high-speed electronic computers, which consciously and deliberately program and re­
fall into two main categories, digital and analog. program our human computer—how to debug
These two types differ in the manner in which malfunctioning programs which lead to disease,
they handle data. Digital computers translate and how to eliminate programs that are destruc­
the data, whether numerical or verbal, into linear tive and obstructive to our evolutionary growth—
sequences of digits, usually binary digits known instead of being victimized and robotized by
as “bits,” according to an established code. automatic programs not of our choosing, im­
Analog computers, on the other hand, translate planted and imprinted in us by inherited and
“physical variables into related electrical quan­ acquired conditioning factors and images.
tities and use electrical equivalent circuits as an A friend of mine has nine TV sets up in a rack,
analog for the physical phenomenon being in­ each tuned to a different channel, and to watch
vestigated.” 24 In other words, there is a formal, this is a most extraordinary experience since it
one-to-one correspondence between the data gives one a summary picture of the mass-mind
variable and the electrical analog variable used programming in action. TV and the related elec­
by the computer to represent the data. tronic media, backed by the psychology of moti­
To think of the human brain and nervous sys­ vational and behavioral conditioning, program
tem as a computer is not at all degrading, as the collective consciousness, and play the role
some would have us believe. On the contrary, it that myths, tales, and dramas have played in the
permits us to see brain and body in proper per­ past. The suburbanite glued to the TV screen
spective: namely, as instruments of Higher Self, is the modern symbolic equivalent of the prisoner
[ 12 ] Maps of Consciousness

chained to the wall in Plato’s cave, hypnotized by were, through the folds of the cloth of time into
the flickering images. His divinely created com­ the world of constancy-in-change that inter­
puter instrumentation is almost entirely domi­ penetrates and interweaves our regular world of
nated by programs imposed from without, based events and persons.
on fear, profit, and power motives, instead of The Hindu and Buddhist Tantras of medieval
being programmed from within to actualize its India rescued the body from the asceticism of
highest potentials. the yoga tradition and celebrated the union of
The human biocomputer, like its electronic, male and female energies through the exaltation
man-made imitation, is programmed in two basic of sensation-perception, transmuting ordinary
modes: the digital-verbal and the analog- sense experience into ecstatic ritual worship.
formal.20 And since we are thus programmed, Tarot cards lead us on an upward-spiraling,
we perceive the world of names (nama) and ever more-inclusive, returning-renewing journey
forms (rupa), as our “reality.” The fact that through the labyrinthine passages of the nether
different people’s and different cultures’ “reali­ and upper worlds, confronting us with mythic
ties” are different is not surprising since the pro­ mirrors in which we see ourselves transformed;
grammed names and forms are different. In order mirrors that resonate and show us things within
to learn to understand what is actually going us of which we dare not think because they are
on, we need desperately to understand the too bright and radiant for our muddied minds.
particular programs under which we are oper­ With astrology we study and attend to the
ating, and how to change them if we want to. rhythmic cycles of those giant beings, the plan­
“Know thyself,” said Socrates, quoting the Del­ ets, in whose fields we live and die. Much as a
phic Oracle. It is only by recognizing our own cell might study the psychophysiological cycles
programs that we can see how conflicting emo­ of the man of whom it is a part and in whose
tions and false information in the programs cause larger being it lives and dies. In the microcos­
us to distort and mis perceive the processes of mos, cells shudder as one man’s body moves “in
energy transformation in which we are involved. opposition” to another, and tremble joyously as
It is for this purpose that the operating manuals the man “conjuncts” with another; so in the
described here were written: in the hope that macrocosmos we men and all living beings ex­
man can learn to participate consciously in the perience motion, commotion, and emotion in the
evolutionary process. And, in conformance with pulsing, orbital phases of these gigantic cosmic
the two types of programming, the manuals or “bodies.”
maps were presented in both verbal-digital Genuine alchemy is to chemistry what genu­
codes and formal-analog images. Six manuals, or ine astrology is to astronomy: the scientific study
maps, of evolutionary growth and development of molecular (or planetary-cosmic) phenomena,
will be discussed in this work. Although there not as an end in itself, or for weapon-power or
are many parallels and similarities, each system money-power, but for the one goal of man’s evo­
presents the path in characteristically different lutionary growth and development. Alchemy is
symbols, suggests somewhat different methods, psychic chemistry, the dissolving of psvchomole-
and points to different aspects and stages of the cular binding forces and the purification of “ele­
journey. ments” so they can be transmuted into finer and
The I Ching, revered by the Chinese as the higher substances. The making of gold was only
oldest and wisest book in the world, permits us a metaphor for the alchemical adepts; repeat­
to step outside of the consciousness-limiting edly they said: “The gold we seek is not the
bonds of two-valued logic and sets us free from common gold.”
the linear, cause-effect thinking in which West­ Actualism teaches that men are the children of
ern philosophy-psychology has been trapped God, and that through the methods of the “yoga
since the time of Aristotle and Plato. It also of fire,” men can become divine, cosmic beings.
affords a momentary glimpse, sideways, as it More exactly, it teaches not that they can be-
 Introduction [ 13 ]

come gods, but that they are gods, caught by 14. Ilse Ollendorf, Wilhelm Reich (New York: St.
the power of their own images into identifying Martin’s Press, 1969).
15. Carl Jung, Aion: Researches into the Phenomenol­
with their creation, the human form, instead of ogy of the Self, vol. 9, II, Collected Works (Princeton:
realizing the God-child creator that they are. Princeton University Press, Bollingen Series XX, 1959),
“Actualism teaches, now and here, the way to p. 9.
externalize the God within: to creative expres­ 16. Carl Jung, The Development of Personality, vol.
sion on earth. Teaches the divine strategy of 17, Collected Works (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, Bollingen Series XX, 1954), p. 198.
gradual awakening . . 27 awakening to the 17. Carl Jung, The Practice of Psychotherapy, vol. 16,
fact of the presence of the Creator-God within. Collected Works (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
The point is not, as has so often misleadingly Bollingen Series XX, 1954), p. 301.
been said, that we must “save our souls”; our souls 18. Roberto Assagioli, Psychosynthesis (New York:
arc doing fine. It is the personality and the phys­ Hobbs, Dorman & Co., 1965 ),
ical instrument that are asleep to the living 19. Claudio Naranjo, “The Unfolding of Man," re­
search memorandum EPRC-6747-3 (Menlo Park, Calif.:
presence that we actually are. Actualism teaches Stanford Research Institute, 1969), p. 39.
the actual design of man’s being and levels of 20. Joseph Kamiya, “Conscious Control of Brain
consciousness, and a method of individuation by Waves,” Psychology Today 1, no. 11 (1968): 59-60.
which it can be verified, by each individual foi 21. John Lilly, The Human Biocomputer (Miami:
himself. Communication Research Institute, 1967). This is avail­
able from Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California.
22. G. I. Gurdjieff, All and Everything, First Series:
NOTES AND REFERENCES Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson (New York: E. P.
Dutton, 1950), p. 15.
1. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of 23. Barbara Brown, “Specificity of EEG Phothic
Man (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, Harper Flicker Responses to Color as Related to Visual Imagery
Torchbooks, 1969), p. 420. Ability,” Psychology 2, no. 3 (1966).
2. Marshall McLuhan, War and Peace in the Global 24. “Analog Computer,” Van Nostrand’s Scientific
Village (New York: Bantam Books, 1968). Encyclopedia, 4tli ed. (Princeton: Van Nostrand Co.,
3. R. Buckminster Fuller, Operating Manual for Space­ 1968).
ship Earth (Carbondale, 111.: Southern Illinois Univer­ 25. Fuller, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth,
sity Press, 1969), p. 99. p. 52.
4. For further discussion of this situation, see Ralph 26. This duality of data handling has been demon­
Metzner, “The Evolutionary Significance of Psychedel­ strated at the neurophysiological level in research on d.c.
ics,” Main Currents of Modem Thought 25, no. 1 (1968). (direct current) potentials and living organisms. See
5. Sri Krishna Prem, The Yoga of the Bhagavat-Gita Robert O. Becker, Charles H. Bachman, and Howard
(London: John M. Watkins, 1958). Friedman, “The Direct Current Control System: A Link
6. P. D. Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous (New Between Environment and Organism,” Neio York State
York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1949), p. 143. This Journal of Medicine (1962): 1169-1176. “It has been
book is a verbatim record of Gurdjieff’s teaching. shown that the state of functional activity of cranial
7. William James, “Concerning Fechner,” The Writ­ neurons, as measured by action potentials, is related di­
ings of William James (New York: Random House, rectly to the presence of a normal D.C. potential gradi­
1967), pp. 529-45. ent and current flow. It therefore appears that each
8. Shafica Karagulla, Breakthrough into Creativity neuron is capable of two types of activity: the first being
(Los Angeles: De Vorss & Co., 1969). the generation of a D.C. potential accompanied by longi­
9. Ibid., p. 159. tudinal D.C. flow and the second being the generation
10. Sigmund Freud, Outline of Psychoanalysis (New of rapidly propagating action potentials as disturbances
York: W. W. Norton, 1949), p. 79. in membrane polarization. By influencing the rate of
11. Wilhelm Reich, Character Analysis (New York: message-flow action potentials, the D.C. system qualifies
Orgone Institute Press, 1949). as a data-transmitting control system. In addition it ap­
12. Wilhelm Reich, Ether, God and Devil (New York: pears to transmit certain types of data such as pain and
Orgone Institute Press, 1949), p. 52. injury, by variations in its own state: an analog type
13. Sgam. Po. Pa., The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, of data transmission.”
trans. H. V. Guenther (London: Rider & Co., 1959), p. 27. Russell Paul Schofield, Imprint Unmistakable
14. (Privately printed, Los Angeles, 1970).
 1 CH1NG
Change—The Evolutionary It IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR A WEST-
em mind to understand a system of thought
Constant such as that contained in the I Cliing or Book
of Changes. It is not merely a question of un­
familiar concepts, such as we might encounter
in learning a new scientific discipline or in en­
tering a new field of research, but rather it is a
fundamental difference in life experience and
hence in basic outlook. Since the Chinese edu­
The Creative and the Receptive are cational tradition is very different from ours, the
the real secret of the changes. result is that the Chinese will take for granted
certain things, which for us are quite strange,
I CHENG and, conversely, many of our basic assumptions
will not appear to them as at all obvious. The
extent of this difference and the difficulty of
bridging it were brought home to me very
vividly one time when I found myself seated on
a plane next to a Chinese man from Hong Kong.
I was on the way to India in search of a guru
who would impart to me the wisdom of the
East. He was on his way home after having
spent eight years in England acquiring Western
architectural skills and knowledge. I talked to
him of my search for a teacher and the truth,
of my desire and hope somewhere, sometime, to
find liberation. It was out there and I had to
find it, move toward it. He talked to me of the
self as a circle, saying that to find liberation I
must go to the center; there was no need to go
anywhere; I was already there, within. I needed
only to open myself to the inner self and I would
be free. There was a containment and a cyclic
completeness in his attitude to which by com­
parison my own attitude seemed intrusive, rest­
less, and impatient. Hunting the Guru in India
 I Ching [ 15 ]

was the title of a book by an Englishwoman that With the completion of this task [the translation],
had just been published and I began to feel like [Wilhelm’s] mission reached its climax and, unfor­
a hunter searching for some half-mythical ani­ tunately, its end also. . . . there grew out of the close
of the one phase the beginning of its opposite. Thus,
mal.
in its culmination, yang goes over into yin, and what
Our talk turned inevitably toward the topic has been positive becomes negative.3
of the relationship between the sexes. I was in
the midst of a very tempestuous relationship Wilhelm’s physical body was not able to with­
with a lady, from which my journey to the East stand the shock of the clashing opposites in his
was no doubt an escape, though I was not able psyche and he died shortly afterward.
to admit this until much later. He, on the other
hand, was returning to Hong Kong to marry a It is widely thought that the Book of Changes
girl he had never met, whom his parents had and the Taoist philosophy it embodies are fun­
picked out for him. I was free to choose but damentally concerned with the complementary
could not accept the freedom. He accepted a interplay of two polar forces yang and yin.
constraint that seemed inconceivable to me and Though this is true, it is perhaps not generally
felt free. I talked of the pain of separation. He appreciated that this duality presupposes a uni-
said, “If you miss the girl and want to write or tive principle that is the source and support of
call her, wait till you no longer miss her, and the opposites emerging from it. “That which lets
then write or call, and the relationship will be now the dark, now the light appear, is Tao.”
happier.” Confucius, in his commentary on hexa­ Tao is the “way,” the matrix of change, that
gram 42, I, increase, says: “The superior man fuses the positive and negative energies. With­
sets his person at rest before he moves; he com­ out the experienced unity, the opposites conflict
poses his mind before he speaks; he makes his and diverge; by balancing them we create har­
relations firm before he asks for something.” mony. Thus we have a trinity of the two (yang
Richard Wilhelm, the German translator of and yin) balancing in the one (Tao).
the I Ching, probably more successfully than The threefold unity of forces has been a
anyone attempted to bridge this gap of under­ central core of all wisdom teachings, both an­
standing.1 Having gone to China as a Protestant cient and modern. In Indian mythology the
missionary, he came into contact with the Book three were personified as Brahma, the Creator,
of Changes and other wisdom texts from the Siva, the Destroyer-Transformer, and Vishnu,
ancient Chinese tradition, and he had the cour­ the Sustainer-Preserver. The Catholic Church
age to open himself up to an intrinsically alien referred to the Trinity as “three in one,” God
way of thinking in order to communicate its the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
vision of the truth to the West. To do this, an Ghost. G. I. Gurdjieff formulated the “Law of
actual inner change was necessary, but ulti­ Three” as the interaction in all phenomena of
mately his labor has enriched thousands of the affirming, plus force, the denying, minus
spirits in the West. Carl Jung, in a memorial ad­ force, and the reconciling, equalizing force.
dress to Wilhelm, wrote: “The picture of the Though rarely recognized as such, modem phys­
East that he has given us, free as it is of pur­ ics has also reached a tri-une formulation in Ein­
posefulness and any trace of arbitrariness, could stein’s equation, E = me2, which says in effect
never have been created in such completeness that energy can manifest interconvertibly as
if Wilhelm had not been able to let the Euro­ matter or as radiation (light).
pean in himself slip into the background.” 2 Ap­ The experience of unity has not been com­
parently Wilhelm’s immersion in the Chinese mon in the West until recently, when the selec­
way of life was so complete that he had great tive use of awareness-amplifying chemicals such
difficulty reintegrating this vision into his basic­ as lysergic-acid-diethylamide made the percep­
ally Christian personality after he returned to tion of the underlying oneness of all phenom­
Europe. Jung tells us of this crisis: ena and life forms accessible to many persons. In
[ 16 ] Maps of Consciousness

searching for an intellectual understanding of acausal connecting principle”—that is, a lawful

this experience, not much help can be found in connection between events given not by a cause-
the usual Western philosophies. It is my belief effect relationship, but by subjective meaning.
that the extraordinary rise in the popularity of Bv formulating this principle Jung is in effect
the I Ching is in part due to the fact that it does saying that such events as the above mentioned
present a “way” in which the experienced one­ are not “mere coincidences,” but are in fact law­
ness, the Tao, through the dual forces and the ful coincidences; they are simultaneous occur­
three-fold fusion, can be related to the manifold rences systematically related by their inner
forms of life, to the “ten thousand creatures,” meaning. The Book of Changes is seen by Jung
and to the ethical and social decisions con­ as being built on this principle of synchronicity.
fronted in everyday life, thus “bringing it all “In the West,” according to Jung, “this thinking
back home.” has been absent from the history of philosophy
How the I Ching does this is not at all easy since the time of Heraclitus, and only reappears
to understand. It seems clear in part that it sim­ as a faint echo in Leibnitz.” 4
ply provides a functional framework for intui­ Heraclitus formulated a philosophy based on
tion. After all, the reading has to be interpreted the notion that everything is in flux, which is a
by the questioner. Yet one wonders how the simplified version of the fundamental law of
judgments and images were finally related to the change or cyclic transformations underlying the
particular patterns of lines obtained by throwing 7 Ching. It is interesting to note that Leibnitz
the coins or sorting the stalks. Were the “holy obtained his suggestion that all numbers could
sages” who composed the basic text clairvoyants be expressed in binary form (as combinations of
who saw the actual patterned cycles of change 0 and 1) from the 7 Ching, which is itself built
and were able to code them in combinations of on the binary principle (combinations of ----
solid and broken lines? and---- ). The binary number system is of
The specificity and accuracy of the judgments course the basic alphabet of all modern high­
is at times uncanny. For example, a friend once speed digital computers, which perform their
consulted the oracle to determine if he should computations using on-off circuitry after transla­
leave the place where he was. He obtained hex­ tion from higher order computer languages. In
agram 26, with the moving line “The axletrees this way the 7 Ching has indirectly contributed
are taken from the wagon”; and that very after­ to one of the dominant influences in modern
noon, while he was meditating on the hidden Western consciousness, besides its growing di­
meaning of this line, a pair of youngsters driving rect influence on thousands of readers. Jose
his car succeeded in breaking its axle, thus ful­ Arguelles has written: “The I Ching functions
filling the oracle. I once consulted the 7 Ching as a computer, and its functioning is only accord­
about a nagging physical pain and received hex­ ing to the truth of the programming. The truth
agram 18, the character for which “represents a of the programming depends on how the person
bowl in whose contents worms are breeding”; who consults the Book of Changes responds to
subsequent medical examination confirmed the its messages.” 5
presence of bacterial infection in the painful Among Western scientist-philosophers, Buck-
area. But at times the relevance of the judg­ minister Fuller is one who has long advocated
ments will not become clear till much later, or that we need to supplement our piecemeal, ana­
the 7 Ching may answer a question that was not lytic approach to the facts of experience by com­
asked consciously but was implicit in the ques­ prehensive systems thinking and design. Having
tioner’s approach or state of mind. defined universe as the “aggregate of all of hu­
It was phenomena of this kind, plus the ESP manity’s consciously apprehended and commu­
experiments of the Rhine group at Duke Uni­ nicated experience,” a definition which includes
versity, that led Carl Jung to formulate the prin­ both the physical universe as described by sci­
ciple of “synchronicity,” which he termed “an entists plus the metaphysical, Fuller states:
 1 Ching [ 17 ]

It is therefore possible to initiate our general sys­ could include whatever was asked for, but it
tems formulation at the all-inclusive level of uni­ will in fact only include what was requested:
verse whereby no strategic variables will be omitted. the present and projected future value, cor­
There is an operational strategy of General Systems responding to the present and future hexagram.
Analysis that proceeds from here. ... It is the same In order to be able to read the answer, we need
procedural strategy that is used by the computer to
to be aware of what cycles we are involved in;
weed out all the wrong answers until only the right
answer is left. Having adequately defined the whole the more awareness we have, the more specific
system we may proceed to subdivide progressively. and meaningful the answer will be. This is why
This is accomplished through progressive division the use of the yarrow stalks is advisable in pre­
into two parts—one of which, by definition, could ference to the coin method. The counting pro­
not contain the answer—and discarding of the sterile cedure takes about twenty minutes, during
part. Each progressively-retained live part is called which time the questioner’s consciousness is
a “bit” because of its being produced by the progres­ focussed on the problem. If it is not, he will lose
sive binary “yes” or “no” bi-section of the previously count and have to start all over. Experience has
residual live part. The magnitude of such weeding shown that a period of meditation added to the
operations is determined by the number of succes­
throwing of the coins will also increase the effi­
sive bits necessary to isolate the answer.0
cacy of this method of consulting, increasing the
recipient’s understanding of the message.
What Fuller is describing as the systematic
The Western scientific method of organizing
strategy used by a computer for generating the
experience proceeds by accumulating observa­
right answers is almost precisely the procedure
used when the I Ching is consulted using the tions of external phenomena piece by piece, in­
yarrow stalks. The procedure begins using fifty venting hypotheses to explain the phenomena in
terms of a small number of natural laws, and de­
stalks; one stalk is set aside, and the others are
vising experiments that are controlled observa­
then divided into two heaps at random; one
tion situations to verify the predictive efficacy
heap is counted through by fours, and the re­
of the laws formulated. In his book The Struc­
mainder four or less is regarded as the “live”
ture of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn has
part; the same thing is done with the other heap,
shown how a scientific “paradigm” will be main­
and the two “bits” thus generated constitute
tained until the number of observations con­
one “change.” This process is repeated two more
trary to the accepted law becomes such that a
times with the two remaining heaps. The three
new set of paradigms can be formulated that
changes give one line. This whole process, re­
will account for both the new and the old ob­
peated six times, gives the six lines of the
servations. The goal is always to arrive at single,
hexagram. This can also be done in a less compli­
all-inclusive formulations. Einstein’s theory of
cated way by the throwing of three coins six
relativity was a more inclusive paradigm than
times. Newton’s theory of gravitation, and included the
By throwing the coins or sorting the stalks we latter as a special case. In the last years of his
are able to gain access to a reading that tells life, Einstein was developing an even more
us where we are in the current cycles of change comprehensive formulation, which he called the
—those cycles involved in the situation we are “unified field theory,” in which he tried to sub­
asking about. This is why the attitude of the sume both the phenomena of relativity and
questioner is so important: his state of mind de­ those of electromagnetic radiation.
termines the breadth and depth of the field of The oriental way of organizing observations
relationships the answer will embrace. and experiences proceeds in the opposite way.
We might compare the situation to a long­ Here the starting point is the experienced unity
distance stock-market report: we ask for the cur­ of the universe, the underlying, all-inclusive
rent value of a certain number of stocks, which energy flux (Tao), and principles of differentia­
are constantly fluctuating in value. The report tion are then introduced gradually to account for
[ 18 ] Maps of Consciousness

more and more detail. In the Tao Te Ching, the puter. We refer here to what is called the Ta
forty-second verse reads: “The Tao materializes; Chuan or Great Treatise, part of the extensive
out of one element come two; out of two come set of commentaries on the 1 Ching known as the
three; out of three, the thousand creatures.” 7 Ten Wings. These commentaries and explana­
We might compare this to the satement of the tions, arranged by subject mater, are found in
geneticist George Beadle: “Evolutionary pro­ Book II of the Wilhelm edition (Book I contains
cesses are not limited to living organisms. They the texts of the hexagrams with Wilhelm’s sum­
begin with the simplest of all elements, hydro­ mary commentaries; Book III contains the texts
gen. In the sun . . . hydrogen converts to helium, with detailed commentaries on each line). The
helium fuses to form a transitory isotope of commentaries explain why a particular combina­
beryllium, which can then interact with helium tion of lines of trigrams has the text that it does.
to yield carbon. In short, it is known how, in The starting point of this ancient Chinese
principle, all elements could have evolved from version of general systems theory is Tao. The un­
an assumed primordial universe of hydrogen differentiated, primal energy flux out of which
alone.” 8 Thus, working from different assump­ everything that exists emerges, “That which lets
tions and with different procedures, similar now the dark, now the light appear, is Tao.”
formulations have been made of the basic evolu­ Tao is one; one becomes two. Originally, the
tionary process. term yang and yin were used to designate the
But there is another important difference. The day-night cycle. Later, the concept was ex­
Western scientific method has become quite sep­ panded to include primal polarity on many
arated from any concern with human meaning or levels: light-dark, firm-yielding, movement-rest,
human consciousness, thus leading to the abuse creative-receptive, male-female. “In a state of
of technology for power and profit. The Taoist rest the Creative is one, and in a state of motion
sages related their insights into cosmic processes it is straight. . . . The Receptive is closed in a
directly to the human psyche and social rela­ state of rest, and in a state of motion it opens.”
tions. A few lines later in the same verse of the The binary code of the I Ching is ---- (i/ang)
Tao Te Ching quoted above, we read: “What and-----(yin). The code in the modern theoiy of
others teach I also teach. ‘The violent do not die electromagnetic energy is + (positive charge,
a natural death.’ I shall take this as my precept.” yang) and — (negative charge, yin).
The eighty-one verses of the Tao Te Ching are The yang force goes out to its maximum, re­
excursions on the physical, biological, social, and turns, softens, and changes into yin, just as the
psychological implications of Tao, variously sun after reaching its zenith begins to sink
called “process,” “energy,” “way,” “design,” back into darkness. The yin force, at its extreme,
“spirit,” or “that which cannot be named,” or coalesces and becomes firmly yang, just as the
“the great.” The 1 Ching takes this a step longest winter’s darkness contains within it the
further and builds the Taoist philosophy into a seed-beginning of new light. “As the firm and
structured system of practical divination or yielding lines displace one another, change and
psychic programming. The third volume in this transformation arise.”
Chinese triad, The Secret of the Golden Flower, In the hexagrams, a changing yang line is
describes the alchemical yoga, that is the actual coded Q - and has the numerical value 9; a
method of expanding human awareness used by
changing yin line is coded-X—and has the nu­
the Chinese, but since it is given in coded form,
it is, in practice, incomprehensible to anyone not merical value 6. The original hexagram obtained
initiated in that system.9 gives a reading for the here-now situation; the
changing lines become their opposites, thus gen­
Let us look in more detail at the way the erating a second hexagram, which gives a future-
I Ching is constructed, that is, at the program­ probability reading. Thus, for example, the
ming language of this particular psychic com­ hexagram 63, Chi Chi, after completion,
 1 Clung [ 19 ]

changes into hexagram 12, P’i, standstill. Yet another way of deriving the eight trigrams
is possible. Eight is the number of combinations of
two types of lines in triads. Doubling the trigrams
we have the sixty-four hexagrams that con­
The two basic dimensions of light-dark and stitute the main body of the book. The two prin­
movement-rest may be arranged in the form of a ciples are combined in triads to indicate the
cross or quaternity: mediating role of man between heaven and
earth. “The Book of Changes contains the meas­
-©---- moving yang ure of heaven and earth; therefore it enables us
9 to comprehend the Too of heaven and earth and
__ _6 8
its order. Looking upward, w'e contemplate
with its help the signs in the heavens; looking
moving yin resting yin down we examine the lines of the earth. . . .
Since in this way man comes to resemble heaven
resting yang and earth, he is not in conflict with them. His
w'isdom embraces all things, and his Tao brings
Or, more abstractly, using the electrical code: order into the whole w'orld; therefore he does not
err” (I Clung, pp. 315-317). Man is made up in
part of creature earth-elements, and he contains
also the creative pow'er that has shaped the
cosmos. Thus he is a microcosm and by under­
- +
standing the laws of change in energy and mat­
ter, in heaven and earth, he is able to realize
his innate capacities. This is the I C/ling’s formu­
lation of the law' of correspondence, the idea that
++
man is a microcosm, exemplifying within himself
the laws of the universe. In the Western alchemi­
Such quaternities were believed by Jung to be cal tradition, this law was summarized in the
symbols of structural completeness; as compared saying attributed to Hermes: "As above, so
to circles representing organic or psychic com­ below.”
pleteness. It is necessary to understand that the terms
In another section of the commentaries a heaven and earth have esoteric as well as
different starting point is given. “There is there­ exoteric significance. On one level, we con­
fore in the Changes the Great Primal Beginning template the cosmic law's (“the signs in the
(t’ai clii). This generates the two primary forces. heavens”), and the principles of mineral and
The two primary forces generate the four images. biological organization (“the lines of the earth”),
The four images generate the eight trigrams.'’ and we recognize how we as human beings are
Tai chi literally is “the great ridgepole.” The part of this ever-changing network of relation­
term pole also appears in the yogic text The ships. On a deeper level, the “tao of heaven”
Secret of the Golden Flower, where it probably refers to the design of the higher frequency
refers to the central vertical axis of the human energy systems within, while the “tao of earth”
body during the work of psychic transformation. refers to the corresponding lower frequency
Perhaps on one level the “great ridgepole” is systems, which are dark because they are ob­
the vertical axis of the planet, which does in fact structed and beclouded by false perceptions and
generate the light and dark primal energies by its beliefs conditioned by personality factors. Man’s
rotation in the diurnal cycle. The “four images” role as a mediator then is to remove these
refers to the four branches of the quaternity obstructions, so that he “comes to resemble
shown above. heaven and- earth,” so that it will be “on earth
 [ 20 ] Maps of Consciousness

as it is in heaven,” and in this way his Tao, or his expressed this way. In the interpretation of a
way, “brings order into the whole world.” For hexagram we begin with the interrelationship of
this reason the Hermetic saying could be, and the two trigrams, which gives us the image, usu­
was, also expressed: “As within, so without”; ally expressed in terms of the nature symbols
or as the Indian tantric masters later phrased it, (for example, “water over fire”). The so-called
“What is here is elsewhere; what is not here is judgment, or decision, attributed to King Wen,
nowhere.” describes the course of action appropriate to the
In the hexagrams, this principle is given a situation shown in the image. The judgments
spatial symbolism: the two lowest places repre­ appended by the Duke of Chou to the individual
sent earth, the two top places heaven, the lines, are used only for moving lines (nines or
middle pair man. In addition the places are alter­ sixes), which are the ones having the greatest
nately light (odd numbered) and dark (even potential for change.
numbered). Since we might obtain changing or
resting lines in light or dark places, in the places The trigrams, the eight basic change vectors,
of heaven, earth, or man, a great multiplicity are given in two arrangements in the 1 Citing.
of situations and changes can be symbolized and In the Primal Arrangement, or Sequence of
u: DAUGHTER.
r'R r'S

The eight trigrams in the

Primal Arrangement, as pairs
of complementary opposites.
Earlier Heaven, they are shown as pairs of op­ the ecliptic, at least originally, relying instead
posite-complementary forces. “Heaven and earth on the circumpolar stars.10 This second layer of
determine the direction. The forces of mountain symbolism, the Inner-World Arrangement, indi­
and lake are united. Thunder and wind arouse- cates how the eight basic forces produce the
each other. Water and fire do not combat each ever changing phenomena of organic life. “God
other. Thus are the eight trigrams intermingled.” comes forth in the sign of the Arousing; he
This, then, is the first layer of symbolism: two brings all things to completion in the sign of
superimposed quaternities showing the basic the Gentle; he causes creatures to perceive one
interplay of pre-life, inorganic energies in terms another in the sign of the Clinging (light); he
of nature symbols. causes them to serve one another in the sign of
In the Inner-World Arrangement, or Sequence the Receptive. He gives them joy in the sign of
of Later Heaven, the trigrams are set in a circle the Joyous; he battles in the sign of the Creative;
corresponding to the changing seasons, the sun’s he toils in the sign of the Abysmal; he brings
yearly path. This is similar to the astrologer’s them to perfection in the sign of Keeping Still”
ecliptic, though Chinese astrologers did not use (7 Clling, p. 287).
The eight trigrams as symbols of natural changes.
 1 Cliing [ 23 ]

The idea of symbolizing the beginning of life, is life which breaks out of the depths of the earth;
the first point of Aries at the spring equinox by it is the beginning of all movement. The trigram
the trigram for thunder (the arousing), is in Sun___ , wind, wood, the Gentle, characterizes
perfect accord with modern theories of the the streaming of the reality-energies into the form
origin of life. Biologists believe, and have of the idea. Just as wind pervades all places, so the
demonstrated experimentally, that lightninglike principle for which Sim stands is all-penetrating, and
electric discharge in a medium of methane, creates “realization.” The trigram Li-----, the sun,
ammonia, and water, the presumed elements of fire, the lucid, the Clinging, plays a great role in
the earth’s early environment, can cause the this religion of light. It dwells in the eyes, forms the
synthesis of porphyrins, the basic ingredients in protecting circle, and brings about rebirth. The tri­
chlorophyll; this in turn permits photosynthesis, gram K’un — — , earth, the Receptive, is one of the
the process by which plants transform radiant
two primal principles, namely the yin principle
sunlight into carbohydrates and thus make food
which is embodied in the energies of the earth. It is
for all animals and men. earth which as a tilled field, takes up the seed of
The eight trigrams have many levels of sym­
heaven and gives it form. The trigram Tui ,
bolism, each and any of which may enter into
the interpretation of the hexagram obtained in a lake, mist, the Joyous, is a final condition on the yin
reading. We have already mentioned the in­ side, and therefore belongs to autumn. The trigram
organic polarized energy symbolism and the Ch’ien ■ ■ — , heaven, the Creative, the strong, is
solar cycle of organic life. According to Wilhelm, the embodiment of the yang principle which fer­
“To understand fully, one must always visualize tilizes K’un, the Receptive. The trigram K’an ,
the Inner-World Arrangement as transparent, water, the Abysmal, is the opposite of Li— —, as is
with the Primal Arrangement shining through
already shown in its outer structure. It represents
it.” In addition, each of the trigrams has a cer­
the region of Eros, while Li stands for Logos. Li is
tain psychological quality or attribute; each is the sun, K’an the moon. The marriage of K’an and
related to a certain animal and to a part of the Li is the secret magical process which produces the
body, also to plants, tools, and substances. All child, the new man. The trigram Kdn — — , moun­
these associations may enter into the meanings
of the judgments and images. tain, Keeping Still, is the symbol of meditation,
which by keeping external things quiescent, gives
The trigrams also form a family of heaven-
life to the inner world. Therefore K3n is the place
father and earth-mother and three sons and three where death and life meet.11
daughters. “In the trigram of the arousing she
[the mother] seeks for the first time the power of In addition to the two primary trigrams, upper
the male and receives a son. Therefore the and lower, use is also made in interpreting the
arousing is called the eldest son. In the trigram hexagrams of the hu kua or nuclear trigrams.
of the gentle the male seeks for the first time They are, so to speak, the trigrams contained
the power of the female and receives a daughter. completely within the structure of the hexagram.
Therefore the gentle is called the eldest daugh­
ter.” These family relationships are extremely
important in interpreting the hexagrams.
At the innermost level the eight trigrams are
also related to the yogic process of psychic primary Irigrams nuclear trigrams
transformation, although this set of meanings is
brought out more clearly in The Secret of the
Golden Flower than in the I Ching itself, where
it is alluded to but rarely made explicit. Here is
Wilhelm’s summary of the role of the trigrams in
working with the inner light: Although Wilhelm does not say so, it may be sup­
posed that the nuclear trigrams would be par­
The trigram Chen — — , thunder, the Arousing, ticularly appropriate for determining the inner.
[ 24 ] Maps of Consciousness

psychic essence of a situation, along the lines I know of several communities of like-minded
of the yogic interpretations given above. In persons where it is regularly used to help re­
fact, the relationships between primary (or solve some of the interpersonal conflicts that in­
outer) and nuclear (or inner) trigrams is impor­ evitably arise and which could not be solved
tant in evaluating the lines in the appended from the fixed perspective of any one member of
judgments. Thus, the top and bottom line, which the group, no matter how experienced. A highly
are each part of one trigram only (the upper successful corporation in New York used the
and lower primary), tend not to be part of the I Ching on a daily basis to regulate the inter­
situation; they represent either residue from the relations of the office staff. I myself have used it
previous phase or seed of the coming phase. as an aid to the practice of psychotherapy, par­
The second and fifth line each belong to two ticularly in situations where neither patient nor
trigrams, one primary and one nuclear; thus there therapist knew what was going on. Invariably the
is usually a favorable state of equilibrium for Z Ching is like a ray of light from a higher
these lines. The third and fourth line each belong source, pointing out the obvious facts and the
to three trigrams, to the upper and lower primary nature of the obstacle. Although it is customary
respectively and to both nuclear. This tends to a for the inquiry and hence the consultation to be
state of disturbed balance, as reflected in the made by an individual, I have seen it used suc­
judgments of the lines. cessfully by couples conjointly, with both part­
ners actually throwing the coins or sorting the
It may be helpful at this point to give an stalks. However, this tends to be less clear than
example of the operation of the 1 Ching as a an individual’s approach because of the different
psychic computer, showing how its symbolically interpretations that can be put on a given pas­
coded answers can be helpful guides both to sage.
outer conduct and to inner meditation. In ancient The following example given here actually
China, the Book of Changes was widely used occurred. A couple was having a lively and bitter
as a guide to statecraft, which accounts for the argument, but somehow in the midst of it
many interpretations couched in terms of what collected themselves sufficiently to agree to try
the ruler, or prince, should or should not do for the I Ching. They decided to each compute one
the people. It is unlikely that modem politicians trigram using the yarrow stalks. A coin was
or rulers will permit themselves to take the tossed to see who should go first. The woman
l Ching seriously, though its consistent ad­ began and obtained three yang lines for the
vocacy of patience, caution, humility, and per­ lower trigram. The man then obtained three yin
severance suggests that were they to do so the lines for the upper, primary trigram. This yields
results could only be beneficial. That its use in hexagram 11,------T’ai, peace, in which the
statecraft and strategy may not entirely be a
thing of the past has been suggested by John receptive, earth energy moves down from above,
Blofeld, who writes: “Many Japanese believe and the creative, higher energy moves upward
that the naval victories they won in the earlier from below. If the trigrams had been reversed,
part of the Pacific War owed much to the fact the two forces would be moving in opposite
that books of strategy based upon the Book of directions, giving rise to hexagram 12, ~_
Changes were required reading for the higher
ranks of Japanese officers. . . . the movements of standstill ( stacnation ). The hexagram”thus
the Chinese army along the Indian frontier in describes a situation of deep and natural har­
1962-1963 possessed characteristics reminiscent mony, modeled on the uniting of forces that
of the lessons traditionally drawn from the Book takes place in Spring (the consultation took
of Change by strategists.” 12 place in March, which is the month of this hexa­
Its use in modern times is more likely to be by gram). Although the personalities of the couple
individuals or by pairs, partners, or small groups. certainly did not experience this harmony at the
 I Clung [ 25 ]

time, the answer from the l Ching put an end to Finally, when the two nuclear trigrams (lines
the conflict they were then engaged in. The judg­ 5, 4, 3, and lines 2, 3, 4) are combined into a
ment for this hexagram reads: “Peace. The small hexagram, we get hexagram 54, Kuei Mei, the
departs, the great approaches. Good fortune. marrying maiden. The question of marriage was
Success.” This judgment could be interpreted to a major factor in the conflict the couple was
mean that the “small” or petty aspects of their experiencing, though it was rarely explicit. The
relationship were diminishing in favor of “great” image text for hexagram 54 reads: “Thunder over
or magnanimous aspects. lake; the image of the marrying maiden. Thus
As exemplified in this situation, a major value the superior man understands the transitory in
of the use of the I Ching in everyday life lies in the light of the eternity of the end.”
its ability to shift the questioner’s point of view The couple in question did not get married;
and to lift him out of personality-bound percep­ indeed, they separated shortly afterward. About
tion and enable him to look at the events from a month later, the man consulted the oracle again
the point of view of ever transforming cycles of about the situation and obtained hexagram 41,
change. Conflicts, after all, can arise only where — — Sun, decrease. This hexagram is formed
interpretations clash with the actual movement of
events in space-time. The “superior” man, ac­ through a change in hexagram 11, peace: the
cording to the Chinese wisdom, is able to deter­ strong line in the third place of 11 has moved
mine where he stands in the ebb and flow and to the top in 41, causing a decrease of the lower
thus regulate his activities accordingly. He knows trigram in relation to the upper. Thus, appar­
that every trough is followed by a crest, as in­ ently, the outer course of events was following
evitably as every crest is followed by a trough. an inner ebb and flow, and indeed the text of
It is delusion to attribute successes and failures hexagram 41 shows how decrease is to be under­
to the ego-personality. As Lao-tse says in verse stood: “decrease combined with sincerity brings
nine of the Too Te Ching: “To be proud with about supreme good fortune without blame.”
wealth and honor is to sow the seeds of one’s The image reads: “At the foot of the mountain,
downfall. To retire when your work is done is the lake; the image of decrease. Thus the su­
the Tao of heaven.” Humility is simply not taking perior man controls his anger and restrains his
credit for one’s positive experiencings; serenity is instincts.” He obtained a six, a changing line, in
the complementary refusal to take blame for the third place, “When three people journey to­
one’s negative experiencings. gether, their number decreases by one.” This
The unity spoken of in the hexagram peace pinpointed another aspect of the situation most
is that between higher and lower forces within. accurately in that part of their difficulties
At the highest level, the couple were in unity, as stemmed from the role of the man’s child from a
father-sky and mother-earth are in unity; at the previous marriage. This line continues: “When
lower, small level, there was conflict, but this one man journeys alone, he finds a companion.”
was departing. The two nuclear trigrams are •----- This could be interpreted to mean he would find
another companion, or he would finally really
Chen, thunder, the arousinc, the eldest son, and
find the companion he had lost, or he would
----- Tui, lake, the joyous, the youngest daugh­ attain inner unity. The commentary on this line
ter. We take this to mean that the son and the reads: “Through this separation, three become
daughter, the offspring of the highest forces, the two; further, through the union one becomes
personalities of the couple, are moving toward two. Thus what is excessive is decreased, and
the same unity as prevails in the cosmos at higher what is insufficient is increased.” Further advice
levels. Hence the text for the moving yin line in was given by another changing line, six in the
the fifth place reads: “The sovereign I gives his fourth place, which stated: “If a man decreases
daughter in marriage. This brings blessing and his faults, it makes the other hasten to come and
supreme good fortune.” rejoice. No blame.” The future probability read-
[ 26 ] Maps of Consciousness

mg was hexagram 14, Ta Yu, possession; in great metaphors preferred by the Taoists. The quali­
measure, fire in heaven; the two nuclear tri­ ties of water, for example, were especially ad­
grams combined indicated thunder within the mired and extolled by Lao-tse: “In the world
earth, hexagram 24, Fu, return. Both of these there is nothing more submissive and weak than
indications were accurate. water. Yet for overcoming that which is hard
A key notion in the Taoist philosophy of action and strong nothing can surpass it” (Tao Te Ching,
is timing. There are no external criteria by which verse fifty-eight). For the Taoists supreme wis­
a given action can be judged good or bad. In­ dom consists in adapting to the natural laws, and
deed Lao-tse and his school tended to regard as far as human conduct is concerned, this means
such judgments as a kind of mental illness. the natural inner laws of one’s true being. Con­
Rather, they say, “good forturne” results when fucius no doubt accepted and practiced this
an action is in harmony with the current phase of philosophy, but in addition he was very much
the cycles of change; actions are good if they an upholder of authority and believed in the
further evolutionary growth and development, importance of following the traditional rules
and “misfortune” results when an action is con­ governing the relationships between members
trary to the direction of change. Such an action of a family and maintaining the proper patterns
will necessarily fail. The terms remorse and of rulership within a community or state. Thus
humiliation, which recur frequently in the Book in many instances the commentaries of Con­
of Changes, refer to the appropriate timing of fucius and his school give exoteric interpreta­
trends and activities. “Remorse” indicates not tions, in terms of statecraft, military strategy,
guilt or blame, but afterthought, literally “biting and public administration, to texts that may very
through again” (remordere) experiences or well originally have had esoteric or psychic
events not yet fully assimilated. “Humiliation,” meanings.
conversely, is not a counsel of shame or self- The modern reader, who is more likely to be
denial, but rather a counsel of forethought meant interested in the I Ching as a guide to inner
to check impulses to reckless, arrogant action. growth, will have to do a considerable amount
“Remorse” and “humiliation,” therefore, refer to of sifting the grain of psychological wisdom from
trends of action that are deviating somewhat the chaff of moralistic and monarchistic inter­
from the Tao; “good fortune,” and “misfortune” pretations. For this purpose it is advisable to pay
refer to actions that definitely further or counter­ more attention to the text than the commen­
act evolutionary change. taries, and particularly to work with the eight
Many readers of the Book of Changes are likely trigrams and their interrelations which are of
td be put off by what seems at times a rather great antiquity, antedating by many centuries
moralistic tone, not unlike a Christian sermon. the Book of Changes itself. They are said to have
The I Cking contains many layers of meaning, been first observed on the shells of tortoises by
and the ethical teachings of the Confucians are the legendary -Fu Hsi, a kind of Chinese Pro­
certainly a major factor, constituting perhaps as metheus.
much as half the bulk of the present version. I The I Ching is in many ways like one of
am inclind to agree with John Blofeld, who on those fascinating Chinese puzzle boxes, in which
the basis of his extensive study of oriental phi­ each apparently self-contained receptacle in­
losophy and language, expressed the opinion that cludes yet another container hidden within it.
“Confucius quite possibly did not fully under­ How much essence of truth may be extracted
stand the I Ching.” It seems certain that the from the meanings within meanings depends
men who originally composed the I Ching were very much on the spirit with which the text and
beings of superior insight who had direct ex­ the consultation are approached, and on whether
perience of levels of reality that very few others or not the questioner has had the relevant ex­
have. They expressed their insights into the periences and perceptions to which the symbols
workings of cosmic laws in terms of the nature point. It is hoped that the psychological exer­
 1 Ching [ 27 ]

cises described in the following section may help access to our higher selves. And the higher self
the genuine seeker unlock some of the mysteries is a being of superior insight into our situation
of this baffling, ancient, and subtle book, and or question. Approached in this way, with rever­
through it to find clues that will guide him to his ence and receptive contemplation, it_ sometimes
true inner light-nature. provides guidelines for persons embarking oft
psychedelic explorations. The images and texts
obtained can be written down or tape recorded
EXPERIENTIAL EXPERIMENTS
and reread or listened to during the trip. This
The best way to gain understanding of the will assuredly provide insight into the multi-
I Ching is of course to use it: to use it in a con­ leveled meanings of the images and perhaps
centrated and systematic fashion. Some have trigger off an experience of the essence.
experimented with consulting it every day—in Specific meditation on the eight trigrams is
the morning, with a period of meditation, asking very helpful. Using both the polarized Sequence
not a specific question, but simply requesting a of Earlier Heaven and the cyclical Sequence of
reading for that day—and attempting to actually Later Heaven, as yantras or meditation maps, one
practice the advice of the hexagram during the inwardly becomes each of the trigrams. In
day. This latter is important since it heightens other words, we treat them as symbols for states
awareness of some of the obstacles and resis­ of consciousness and feel what it is like to be
tances to the practice, and this can provide Ch’ien, the creative, male, dynamic force; and
valuable insights. K’un, the receptive, female, magnetic force;
Keeping a record of the readings obtained, and the balance of Ch’ien and K’un, the great
together with the questions asked, is valuable in axis (t’ai chi) of polar energies. We become Li,
that somethimes, months later, patterns of the lucid, fiery, light of the sun; and K’an, the
change in inner development are discernible, watery, enveloping, lunar energy; and the bal­
which at the time of the reading were quite ob­ ance of Li and K’an. Then we become Chen, the
scure. For instance the man in the example of arousing, electric thunder that incites movement
the couple given above discovered certain within and shakes loose psychic rigidities; and
aspects of the significance of the readings only Sun, the gently penetrating energy that moves
on writing this chapter, over a year after the like wind through trees; and we experience the
events described occurred. harmonious interplay of Chen, the firm, and Sun,
For me, the important breakthrough in my the yielding. Finally, we enter into Tui, which
appreciation of the 1 Ching came when I was reflects pure joy, like a mountain lake in autumn;
willing to approach the oracle with a question and Ken, the principle of stillness; and we feel
that really mattered. At first I felt silly, asking an the mutual attraction of the feminine Tui and the
old Chinese book about major life decisions; our masculine Ken. A similar meditation sequence
so-called scientific education and false notions of can be constructed for the seasonal progression,
who we really are prevent us from recognizing from Chen (Spring), the sign in which “God
that maybe our mind isn’t the best instrument comes forth,” through Li (Summer), Tui
in the world for arriving at truth. But if we (Autumn), and K’an (Winter), to Ken, the
are willing to make the experiment and ask, in sign in which “God brings all things to com­
all humility, a genuine question, the most sur­ pletion.”
prising responses will be forthcoming. It helps Having gone through meditations of this sort,
to approach the 1 Ching not as a book, but as a we gain an experiential sense for these symbols,
being of superior wisdom. I actually say, in­ which mere verbal reading and intellectual grasp
wardly, “Dear I Ching, please shed light on the cannot produce. A similar approach can be used
following situation or question.” After all, we are when a hexagram is obtained in a reading: that
not consulting a book, but rather using a is, one internalizes the sense of the component
specially constructed verbal computer to gain primary and nuclear trigrams and then looks
[ 28 ] Maps of Consciousness

at the original question from a perspective at­ way is obscure, perseverance still furthers
tuned to the cosmic, inner cycles of transforma­ growth.
tion. The future-probability reading, hexagram 4,
youthful folly, at first sight suggests I might
Having reached this point in the writing of be making a mistake. But even though it may be
this chapter, I decided to leave the final word to a sign of youthful folly on my part to try to
the I Ching itself. I therefore consulted it with interest readers in the I Clung, yet, “Youthful
due reverence and ceremony, using the coin folly has success. It is not I who seek the young
method, and asked it to help me make a final fool; the young fool seeks me. At the first oracle
suggestion or comment to the reader of this I inform him. If he asks two or three times, it is
importunity. If he importunes, I give him no
book. I obtained hexagram 46, zm , Sheng,
information. Perseverance furthers.” The mes­
pushing upward, with a 9 in the third place sage here is that I have already been answered
and a 6 at the top; the future-probable develop­ in the first hexagram. The answer is clear and
further questioning is unnecessary and will lead
ment therefore is hexagram 4, — ~ , Meng,
to no further insight. I will therefore drop the
youthful folly. The text of hexagram 46 reads: matter here. If the reader wishes to pursue it
“Pushing upward has supreme success. One must further, I leave it to him to ponder the meaning
see the great man. Fear not. Departure toward of the nuclear trigrams thunder (Chen) and
the south brings good fortune.” “Pushing up­ lake (Tui).
ward” is translated “ascending” in John Blofeld’s The counsel, which, in the / Ching, runs like
version, which better suggests what I take to be Ariadne’s guiding thread through the mazelike
the import of this message from the Book of intricacies of the fabric of life’s changes, may
Changes: ascend in consciousness, grow. justly be quoted here: “Perseverance furthers.
No blame.” Change is the one constant in both
The component trigrams are Sun,___ , the
constructive and destructive processes; there is
gentle, wind, wood, below; and K’un, II the change for growth and development and change
pure receptive, earth, above. Thus we have the for decay and degeneration. The choice is ours.
image of a tree growing up out of the earth.
“Adapting itself to obstacles and bending around
them, wood in the earth grows upward without
haste and without rest,” says the commentator.
The tree has always played a major role in sys­ NOTES AND REFERENCES
tems of evolutionary growth of consciousness, 1. Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes, trans., The
symbolizing upward growth with inner direction. I Ching or Book of Changes, 3rd. ed. (Princeton: Princeton
The Higher Self is receptive to this upward University Press, Bollingen Series XIX, 1967). Of the exist­
motion. “One must see the great man. Fear not ” ing English-language versions of the I Ching, the Richard
indicates that it is advisable to look for a teacher, Wilhelm translation is the one most widely used and
someone who can help us overcome our fears. will be most often referred to here. It is recognized as
an outstanding translation. The more recent version
"Departure toward the south brings good for­ translated directly from the Chinese by John Blofeld,
tune,” says to me that to actually take the step The Book of Change (London: Allen & Unwin; New
of moving upward with inner direction and to York: E. P. Dutton, 1965), is much briefer because it
look for the wise teacher will meet with fulfill­ omits the philosophical commentaries entirely and re­
ment. The two moving lines reinforce this mes­ stricts itself to elucidating the practical use of the I
Ching in divination. Blofeld is a distinguished orientalist
sage: “One pushes upward into an empty city,”
with both experiential and scholarly knowledge of Zen,
i.e., apparent obstructions fall away. And “Push­ Tantras, and Taoism. His version has much to recom­
ing upward in darkness, it furthers one to be mend it and his introduction and explanatory chapters
unremittingly persevering,” i.e., even though the are especially admirable. There is also a much older
 I Ching [ 29 ]

English version by James Legge, The Yi King. vol. 16, numbers used in designating the lines (6, 7, 8, and 9),
Sacred Books of the East (Oxford: Clarendon Press, as well as the details of the yarrow stalk oracle are in­
1899), and a very recent version by Gia-fu Feng, pub­ timately related to ancient Chinese astronomy-astrology,
lished by Macmillan in 1969. which used a month reckoned from the phases of the
2. Carl Jung, “In Memory of Richard Wilhelm,” ap­ moon, and a circle of twenty-eight hsiu (asterisms). See
pendix to The Secret of the Golden Flower: A Chinese Rupert Gleadow, The Origin of the Zodiac (New York:
Book of Life, trans. Richard Wilhelm, trans. from the Atheneum, 1969), especially the chapter on "The Zodiac
German by Cary F. Baynes, rev. ed. (New York: Ilar- in China.” Chinese astronomy also had a division of the
court, Brace & World, 1962), p. 148. sky into four palaces, corresponding to the four seasons
3. Ibid., p. 148. and elements: the Green Dragon (Spring, wood); the
4. Ibid., p. 143. Red Bird (Summer, fire); the White Tiger (Autumn,
5. Jose Arguelles, "Compute and Evolve,” Main Cur­ metal); and the Black Tortoise (Winter, earth). Lama
rents in Modem Thought 25, no. 3 (1969): 4.
Anagarika Govinda, the eminent Buddhist scholar and
6. R. Buckminster Fuller, Operating Manual for Space­
ship Earth (Carbondale, 111.: Southern Illinois Univer­ commentator on Tibetan philosophy, has told me that
sity Press, 1969), p. 63. it is possible to obtain from the I Ching a hexagram
7. Many versions of the Tao Ti Ching exist. The that corresponds to the date and year of one’s birth; a
quotations used here represent an amalgam of several kind of life-reading. He did not however disclose the
translations. method of doing this, indicating only that it involves
8. George W. Beadle, “The New Genetics: The analyzing the geometric pattern made by the sequences
Threads of Life,” Encyclopedia Britannica Yearbook of hexagrams; and that this geometric problem can be
1964, pp. 44-72. solved only when it is recognized that two of the hexa­
9. Wilhelm, trans.. Secret of the Golden Flower. grams are in the wrong place as presently arranged.
10. The astrology and numerology of the I Ching 11. Wilhelm, in The Secret of the Golden Flower, pp.
is intricate and probably much distorted in the versions 17-18.
that have come down to us. Suffice it to say that the 12. John Blofeld, The Book of Change, p. 15.
 TANTRA
The Exaltation of Experience The Sanskrit word tantra, like the
Chinese word ching, is related to the concepts
of weaving, thread or fabric, hinting at the
ecological interrelatedness of phenomena, at an
extended, all-inclusive point of view. For millen­
nia it was (and is) the concern of Indian phi­
losophy and yoga methods to extract oneself
from the subtle web of illusion (maya) spun by
sense experience. With the psychoreligious
movement known as tantra, which began in the
He ioho realizes the truth of the body
third and fourth centuries a.d. and spread
can then come to know through all the various Indian subcultures and
the truth of the universe. religions over a period of a thousand years, there
is a distinct shift of emphasis. The earliest tantric
RATNASARA TANTRA writers are outspokenly antiacademic and anti­
ascetic. To obtain “self-realization” they advocate
a practical, experimental approach, rather than
a philosophical one, and they ridicule the prac­
titioners who concern themselves with clothes,
diet, and the like. “If only the naked attain
liberation, the dog and the fox would also attain
it; ... if the eating of grass ensures liberation,
why should not elephants and horses be liber­
ated?” 1 asks one author; and another enjoins:
“Do not cast away the five objects of desire and
do not inflict strain on the body through pen­
ance; try to attain bodhi [“perfect knowledge”]
in a pleasant way by following the injunction of
the science of esoteric yoga.” 2
The Upanishadic strategy of realizing the im­
manent self by successively stripping away the
various false conceptions and perceptions of self
that arise in meditation (neti, neti, “not this,”
“not that”), had become distorted and perverted
into practices that denied the body, rejected
 Tantra [ 31 ]

sense experience, and idealized penance and “lesser path,” monastic schools of Southern
suffering. The tantras set up a powerful counter- Buddhism taught that one should merely try to
current to this ascetic tradition by affirming and reach nirvana and then leave the body, the
glorifying the role of the body and of sense ex­ Mahd-ydna, “greater path” school of Northern
perience, and by teaching that although ordi­ Buddhism, which inspired Zen in China and
narily they were obstacles to realization, when Japan, introduced the procedure in which the
transformed through the esoteric practices of Bodhisattva (candidate for Buddhahood) takes a
tantric yoga they become the very vehicles of vow to return to earth and postpones his final
liberation. “release” until all beings have been enlightened.
Thus, “In the Hevajra-tantra we find that the The Vajrayana then is the tantric adaptation
Lord [Bhagavan] was asked by a Bodhisattva of Mahdyana Buddhism, also known, especially
whether there was any necessity at all of this in Tibet, as the “direct path,” or “the path of
physical world and the physical body, everything seeing,” or “the path of attaining liberation in
being in reality nothing but pure void. To this the one lifetime.” There is also a Hindu tantra, and
reply of the Lord was that without the body there are interesting differences between the two
there was no possibility of the realization of the systems, as well as many similarities; and much
great bliss and here lies the importance of the argument among scholars, which need not con­
body.” 3 Indeed one can observe in the philo­ cern us here, as to which came first.
sophical formulations of the Buddhists subtle Mircea Eliade has pointed out that “Tantrism
but profound changes as they experienced the served as the vehicle by which a large number
influence of the tantric way. The concept of of foreign and exotic elements made their way
nirvana was used to designate the supreme goal into Hinduism [and Buddhism] . . . exotic rites
in the earlier schools of Buddhism: it encom­ and beliefs are clearly discernible in it.”n In
passes the ideas of cessation (of the cycles addition, he argues that Gnostic influences from
of death and birth), extinction (of the flames of the West cannot be ruled out since “more than
desire and impulses), release, tranquillity, and one curious parallel can be noted between
peace. The Buddha himself however refused to Tantrism and the great Western mysterio-sophic
discuss its attributes. In the tantras we find the current that, at the beginning of the Christian
supreme goal referred to more usually as “great era, arose from the confluence of Gnosticism,
bliss” (mahasukha), a very different notion in­ Hermetism, Greco-Egyptian alchemy, and the
deed, and there are extensive passages in tantric traditions of the Mysteries.”6 It must be re­
literature describing various stages and levels membered though, that insofar as tantra repre­
of bliss. sented a genuine experimental method for the
Similarly, the concept of “voidness” (sunyata), attainment of higher consciousness, the results it
regarded as the supreme reality underlying all obtained would be similar to those obtained by
phenomena whatsoever, is much less emphasized other genuine systems, and this could explain the
in the tantric forms of Buddhism; instead we curious parallel.
find more emphasis placed on the notion of Since the essence of tantra is verifiable experi­
vajra, which means both “thunderbolt,” suggest­ ence of definite states of consciousness, the
ing creative energy, and “diamond,” suggesting methods are not and could not be written down,
indestructibility. It has also been translated as except again in the form of codes serving as re­
“adamantine essence.” “Sunyata, which is firm, minders to those initiated in the system. The
substantial, indivisible, impenetrable, incapable genuine teachings were secret, that is, trans­
of being burnt and imperishable, is called the mitted orally from teacher to student, both be­
Vajra ” says one tantric text.4 The term vajra cause they would be incomprehensible to
led to the designation Vajra-ydna, “diamond uninitiated people, and because if practiced
(or thunderbolt) path,” for the tantric, experi­ without the guidance of a teacher they could be
ential branch of Buddhism. While the Hina-ydna, dangerous. The existing tantric texts concern
[ 32 ] Maps of Consciousness

themselves principally with the general philoso­ Hindu tantra, known as “followers of the left-
phy behind the methods, and with what we have hand path” (vamacari), the acceptance of the
earlier called external aids. Thus there are female took the form of yogic sadhana bv
lengthy and elaborate descriptions of meditation couples rather than individuals, and the union of
rituals and rites of various kinds. In particular, male with female was practiced on both the
the external aids developed by the tantric yoga- inner and the outer planes, preferably of course
psychologists were yantras, geometrical designs by the woman as well as the man. The left side of
used for the transformation of visual sense ex­ the body in tantra is the female side, and so
perience through visualization exercises; mantras, vamacari has become for some, either in reality7
for the transformation of auditory sense experi­ or in fantasy, the designation of those who in­
ence through exercises with the power of dulge in practices that are perhaps “not right,”
sound; and mudras, for the transformation particularly the use of meat, wine, and sex in a
of bodily experience through the channeling of ritual worship context. A deeper interpretation of
energies by means of special postures and ges­ this term was given to me in conversation with
tures. In addition, maithuna, or ritualized sexual the late Sri Krishna Prem, an Englishman who
union, played an important part in certain had made a profound, lifelong study of the
branches of the Hindu tantras, leading to end­ Hindu yogas and tantras. The left hand is our
less misunderstanding and disapproval on the undeveloped hand, our more unconscious aspect;
part of both Eastern and Western commentators and so the vamacari represents the strategy of
under the influence of taboo conditioning developing one’s weakest function in order to
factors. bring about integration; a strategy we find
especially emphasized by the Sufis and by Gurd-
Tantric psychology jieff.
In the highly stratified social system of India,
Tantric psychology begins where modem philosophic and religious ideas and movements
Western psychologies such as those of Whilhelm always appeared in many different forms and
Reich and Carl Jung leave off. Recognizing the on different levels of abstractness, according to
importance of the body and understanding the the level of education and understanding. What
principle of the union of opposites (tjugan- was conceived of as highly recondite philosophv
addha), the avowed purpose of tantric sadhana by learned scholars and brahmins, or as psycho-
(practice) became “the reunion of the two polar physiological energy systems by practicioners of
principles within the disciples own body.” 7 We tantric yoga, was symbolized for the popular
find, with the rise of tantra in India, along with understanding in terms of the innumerable
other antiascetic tendencies already noted, in­ deities of the Hindu pantheon. Thus we have
creasing attention again being given to the femi­ the mythic trinity of Brahma, (the Creator),
nine, a “sort of religious rediscovery of the Siva (the Transformer), and Vishnu (the Pre­
mystery of woman.” 8 On one level this was ex­ server ) each with their female counterparts, rep­
pressed in the notion of the union of male and resented as the personified supreme forces. Yet
female—Siva and Sakti among the Hindus, Prajna for some groups, Vishnu is the supreme deity
and Updya among the Buddhists—within the con­ (as in the Bhagavad Gita); or Siva is regarded
sciousness and within the body. For the body is as the highest, manifesting both creative and
the microcosm of the macrocosm, and just as the destructive energy; or, as in Bengal to the pres­
great universe itself is the manifestation of polar ent day, the supreme deity is Kali, the Black
opposites, so by uniting the opposites within our­ Mother, She who has given birth to all three
selves we attain to a state of union and at the deities, the creative-destructive womb of the
same time to supreme illumination and knowl­ worlds, nourishing with one hand, destroying
edge of the universe. with the other.
On another level, among certain sects of the Siva, as Lord of Yogis, as He who dances uni-
Siva Ardhanarisvara.
Siva Trimurti, from cave temple at Elephanta.

verses in a ring of fire, is the preferred personi­ nothing to do with the sexual behavior prefer­
fication of the Hindu tantrics. Universally, ences sometimes denoted by that term since the
when shown with his Sakti, his female counter­ physical body is not literally hermaphroditic and
part, she is on the left, he on the right, and natural sexual consciousness is polarized accord­
very often, their hands are, through mudras, ex­ ing to the male or female structure of the body.
pressing higher feeling states or aspects of the The sculptured Swa-Sakti and Siva Ardhanaris­
relationship between male and female polarities. vara represent in three-dimensional form a mul­
In one monographic version of the Swa-Sakti tidimensional polarity aspect of the human being.
principle, the so-called Siva Ardhanarisvara, the It is the organizing force field of the body,
psychophysiologic bisexuality of the tantras is which is polarized male-right and female-left,
made explicit in that the body of the statue is and this is what the dual or single statues are
hermaphroditic: male on the right and female indicating.
on the left. The bisexuality referred to here has An even more basic symbolism, prevalent
 Tantra [ 35 ]

throughout India, is the upright lingam encir­ locked in such close embrace that it is virtually
cled by the yoni at its base. Lingam and yoni impossible to tell which of the many arms be­
are the Indian Sivaite equivalent to yang and longs to whom. When I first encountered this
yin, male-female creative tension. Ananda K. form of art, I was irritated at the apparent lack
Coomaraswamy lias written: “The fiery lingam of clarity until I realized that this fusion to the
is a form of the Axis Mundi, and can be equated point of indistinguishable form is precisely the
with the shaft of light or lightning (vajra, kerau- experience the Tibetan tan trie artists were try­
nos) that penetrates and fertilizes the yoni, the ing to convey. “When through the yogic process
altar, the Earth, the mother of Fire—for ‘light one enters into the state of supreme bliss
is the progenitive power: in the older Christian (mahd-sukha), the whole world becomes of the
nativities it is represented by the Ray that ex­ form of unique emotion in the nature of Mahd-
tends from the Sun above to the interior of the sukha, and through this unique emotion of bliss
cave in which the Earth-goddess bears her the whole world as static and dynamic becomes
Son.” 9 Using an analogy from the language of one.” 10
physics we could say here that the vertical flow It is helpful in understanding the extraordi­
of electric force represented by the lingam is nary art of the tantras to remember that this is
associated with a circular magnetic force field not merely symbolic art, but that it also repre­
perpendicular to the line of flow, represented sents actual psychophysiological experiences.
by the yoni. Thus, the Yab-Yum statues are not merely a
In the gigantic cave temple at Elephanta, symbol for the union of Prajnd, “knowledge,”
hewn out of the solid rock on an island in the the female principle, and Upaya, “compassion,”
Bay of Bombay, the Siva-Lingam, in a monu­ the active male principle, but they also depict
mental square shrine with entrances on the four actual inner experiences of the uniting dynamic
sides guarded by huge divine doorkeepers, is the and magnetic forces within the microcosmic
central sanctuary of the temple, “emanating to body. The presence of many arms on the deities
the four quarters its all-productive energy.” is not just a symbol for the many powers of the
Around the sides of the rock-hewn cave are enlightened beings, it is a literal representation
sculpted reliefs of the several aspects of Siva, of the arms of the many bodies of the human
but one in particular stands out, consisting only being.
of three overpoweringly huge faces. One, facing The notion that man actually has several
right, is masculine, virile, dynamic, with twirl­ bodies or sheaths of different density or vibra­
ing mustache; the second, facing left, is femi­ tory rate which interpenetrate one another was
nine, softly rounded, with full lips; the third and well known to yogis and tantrics. “These
central head faces out, yet it is oriented in­ ‘sheaths,’ therefore, are not separate layers, . . .
wardly—the eyes closed, it is absorbed in the but rather in the nature of mutually penetrating
meditative process of fusing and merging the forms of energy, from the finest ‘all-radiating,’
two opposing aspects—still, yet charged with all-pervading, luminous consciousness down to
tremendous power, immovable, yet all-encom­ the densest form . . . which appears before us as
passing. It is the neutral, transcendent conscious­ our visible, physical body. The correspondingly
ness, which enters into the male or female polar finer or subtler sheaths penetrate, and thus con­
aspect, but does not become involved; it is their tain, the grosser ones.” 11
source and support, but it does not act in the We have noted in the Introduction how many
drama. This carving is a matchless symbol of the of the sensitives interviewed by Dr. Karagulla
threefold unity. are able to see one or several of these sheaths,
In the Tibetan Buddhist iconography, the as fine networks of lines of light extending
union of opposites is presented in painting and through and around the physical body. This
sculpture as father-mother (Yab-Yum) deities idea of man having inner bodies of successively
Tibetan Yab-Yum (father-mother) figure, representing multi­
dimensional ecstatic inner union.
 Tantra [ 37 ]

finer and finer substances within the physical between the microscopic and the telescopic
body is found in esoteric Christianity, in occult worlds, is the mediator of heaven and earth.
philosophy and theosophy, in Gurdjieff, and in This is why ancient Indian sages were able to
Actualism, where it is explained on the basis of determine the lengths of various cosmic cycles
different frequency rates. These bodies can be with such accuracy that their figures correspond
experienced consciously when they are awak­ with the best modern calculations. “What is here
ened, which is possible with certain yogic meth­ is elsewhere. What is not here, is nowhere”
ods. The many armed deities of the Hindus and (Vislwcisara Tantra).
Buddhists can, I think, best be understood from Although in the later tantric theories the iden­
this point of view. tification of man’s physiology with different as­
pects of the cosmos was carried to fantastic
The concept of the microcosmic nature of man lengths, let us consider here merely some of the
is basic to the tantras, as it is to all so-called basic concepts. The body, or bodies, has a cen­
occult psychologies and philosophies. It is pre­ tral axis, just as the planet has an axis. “Imagine
cisely because man is a cosmos on a small scale the central part (or spinal-column) of thy body to
that it is possible to attain to knowledge of the be Mt. Meru [the world axis],” begins one Ti­
large-scale cosmos by methods of internal ob­ betan visualization exercise.13 Along this axis are
servation. Modern science is beginning to recog­ arranged various centers of force, known as
nize something of this in the idea of “scales of cakras, literally “wheels” or “discs.” The cakras
nature”: there are, after all, no departments of are not physiologic organs, rather they are “the
chemistry and physics in Nature, and we, as points in which psychic forces and bodily func­
human beings, conform to and exemplify, within tions merge into each other or penetrate each
our own nature, all the laws and principles that other. They are the focal points in which cosmic
science studies by external means. We are col­ and psychic energies crystallize into bodily qual­
lections of atoms, molecular aggregates, groups ities, and in which bodily qualities are dissolved
of cells organized into organs to perform spe­ or transmuted again into psychic forces.” 14 The
cialized functions. We recapitulate in the uterus sensitives interviewed by Shafica Karagulla re­
the evolutionary history of man from the single corded observations of centers along the vertical
cell to the completed body. And recent research axis of the vital field, these centers being in the
on the molecular basis of memory, on informa­ form of vortices of energy. The vortices had
tion transfer by RNA molecules, certainly makes smaller cone-shaped vortices ranged around
the possibility of evolutionary consciousness not them, the point of the cone oriented inward.15
wildly remote.12 Tin's yields a picture not unlike the tantric
In Gurdjieff the concept of scales of nature is yogi’s image of the cakra as a lotus blossom with
further developed when he compares the re­ different numbers of petals ranged around it.
lationship between levels or scales to the rela­ The notion of energy centers in the organism
tionship between octaves of different pitch: is not fashionable in current academic physiol­
though the frequency (pitch) is different, the ogy, though individual scientists have here and
ratios of frequencies (intervals) are the same; there made observations leading to related con­
though the absolute magnitudes of atomic phe­ cepts. Thus Robert O. Becker and associates at
nomena and cosmic phenomena are vastly dif­ the State University of New York Medical Cen­
ferent, the patterns of relationships are similar. ter, in their studies of d. c. (direct current) po­
The atom with its concentric rings of electrons tentials in amphibians and man, observed that “a
orbiting the nucleus is a miniature sun with its complex electrical field was found, . . . and its
orbiting planets and satellites. “As above, so spatial configuration was noted to bear a close
below” were the words of the great initiate Her­ relationship to the gross anatomic arrangement
mes Trismegistos. And man, standing midway of the central nervous system. Positive areas
[ 38 ] Maps of Consciousness

were located over the cellular aggregates of the positive systems, are involved in mutually an­
neuraxis (cranial, brachial, and lumbar) with tagonistic yet functionally complementary pro­
increasing negative potentials along the peri­ cesses of excitation and inhibition.
pheral nerve outflows from each.”10 In his The association of idd and pingala with moon
studies of the distribution and damming up of and sun is not as fanciful as it might at first
energy flow in man and in single cells, Wilhelm seem when we consider that our relationship to
Reich was led to postulate a “functional anti­ those two cosmic bodies is in fact polarized in
thesis between center and periphery” in biolog­ an analogous way. The sun radiates positive
ical organisms. Growth processes were found to energy in the form of heat and light, which
be associated with energy radiating from the stimulate, nourish, and sustain life processes on
center to the periphery, so that in a longitudi­ earth. The moon, by contrast, acts like a mag­
nal body such as the human, the flow of energy net; it lias no radiation of its own, but it draws
proceeds through a number of different “seg­ the huge masses of earth’s liquids toward it in
ments,” i.e., ocular, oral, thoracic, lumbar, sac­ daily tides. Since we are 70 percent liquid it has
ral, and can be dammed up or blocked at one an understandably profound effect on our con­
or more of these segments.17 sciousness, on our cells, organs, bodies, feelings,
Both of these researchers thus made observa­ and thoughts. Experientially, in looking at the
tions of energy polarity phenomena occurring moon, we often feel a magnetic attraction, a
between the center and the periphery of the female-related force which renders animals and
body. In the tantras, the centers and axis refer poets “moonstruck”; by contrast, the radiating
not only to the physiological organism but also force of the sun is such that we cannot look at
to the total ensemble of man’s bodies and fields. it at all.
What we would call the “field-force lines” were Part of the esoteric practice of the tantric
referred to by the tantrics as nadis, a vastly in­ psychologists undoubtedly consisted of increas­
tricate network of current carriers extending ing one’s awareness of the psychophysical field
throughout and around the physical body, paral­ by amplifying energy flow through the nadis.
leling the nervous system but not identical with Eliade states -hat “the texts insistently repeat
it. The three principal nadis were sushumna, that, in the uninitiate, the nadis have become
the central vertical axis; idd, the negatively ‘impure,’ that they are ‘obstructed’ and must be
charged, lunar current; and pingala, the posi­ ‘purified.’ ”19 When purified and awakened,
tively charged, solar current. “According to the they become exquisitely tuned conductors of
tradition, idd and pingala are represented as two ecstatic energy. “She (one of the nadis) is beau­
spirals, starting from the left and right nostril tiful like a chain of lightning and fine like a
respectively, and moving in opposite directions (lotus) fibre, and shines in the minds of the
around sushumna-nddi, . . . meeting in the peri­ sages. She is extremely subtle; the awakener of
neum at the base of the spine.” 18 pure knowledge, the embodiment of all Bliss,
Again, it is interesting to note that although whose true nature is pure Consciousness.” 20
Western physiology does not recognize these In all Indian yoga systems, both classical and
subtle bodies, a similar threefold functional di­ tantric, the importance of the physical and
vision exists on the biological-anatomic level: breathing exercises of Hatha Yoga [literally:
the nerves mediating voluntary movements and sun-moon union, from ha (sun), tha (moon),
external perception are channeled through the and yog (union)] is emphasized since they pro­
spinal cord; those mediating the involuntary, in­ vide the necessarv strengthening of the bodv
stinctual-emotional processes and internal per­ without which it cannot tolerate the experiences
ceptions, are channeled through the autonomic produced by the sadhana. “Unless the body is
or vegetative nervous system; the two branches made ripe through the practice of hatha yoga,
of this system, known as parasympathetic and the supreme realization . . . becomes a lulling
sympathetic, or more simply, the negative and sleep of the senses or something like a swoon.” 21
 Tantra [ 39 ]

It is my impression, from personal observation, namely in successive cakras, of which each rep­
that many users of large doses of psychedelic resents a different dimension of consciousness,
substances are having experiences of this sort, and in which each higher dimension includes
since their bodies are not prepared for the mag­ the lower one without annihilating its quali­
nification of higher frequency energies; so that ties.” 22
apart from certain optic phenomena and concep­ There is no space here to enter into a discus­
tual insights, the person actually becomes, for sion or description of the different cakras, es­
longer or shorter periods of time, unconscious. pecially as there is much disagreement in the
Often he will not be able to give any account at literature on the number and significance of
all of long stretches of the experience, or he will cakras. It is a widely popularized notion that the
use expressions such as “wiped out.” or “stoned,” key process in tantric yoga is the raising of the
suggestive of a quasihypnotic sleep state. kundalini (“serpent fire”) from its latent posi­
The union of male and female polar energies tion at the base of the spine, upward through
within the adepts’ own bodies—such is the goal the cakras to the top of the brain. Careful read­
of tantric yoga, through which great bliss (malm- ing of the published texts, however, indicates to
sukha) is realized and supreme illumination me that this is both oversimplified and probably
attained. But how is this to be done? On the de­ misleading. The techniques described, in works
tails of the method, the texts are either silent, or such as Lama Govinda’s Foundations of Tibetan
deliberately obscure, employing a language of Mysticism, and W. Y. Evans-Wentz’s Tibetan
paradox and flowery metaphor. The reason for Yoga and Secret Doctrines, indicate careful
this is not only to protect the uninitiated from work principally with the vibratory power of
the dangers that might arise through the prac­ certain sounds and with tummo (“inner fire”),
tice of these techniques without a teacher, but on establishing correct relationships between the
also to protect the method from the misunder­ various centers. This is done, with the help of a
standing that would and does arise when it is guru, in the context of a definite manner of
described without being shown. I know from working so that the body becomes the instru­
my own personal experience that when I was ment and means through which Higher Self can
told of certain techniques of Agni Yoga by accomplish the purposes for which it entered
someone who was not a teacher and attempted into incarnation. Simply to try to raise the kun-
to practice them, no result ensued; I was con­ dalini, or open the cakras, divorced from the
sequently disappointed and lost interest. When I purposeful context of evolutionary growth, and
was later shown the technique by the teacher rather as a way of attaining power or higher
who was able to amplify its effects for initial perception without the necessary purification of
perception, very definite results occurred. the bodies and nadis, can be both pointless and
In general, it may be said that one aspect of the hazardous. Persons with prematurely opened
union of plus and minus energies is the cen­ cakras can be found in mental hospitals. I know
tralizing of the currents flowing through ida and personally at least one individual who suc­
pingala, the left and right nadis; and another ceeded, with LSD, in raising kundalini to the
aspect is the harmonizing of “higher” and brain, and was quite the opposite of pleased
“lower” centers. “We are dealing here, in other with the outcome.
words, with the integration of a double polarity, According to Gurdjieff,
which presents itself on the one hand as ‘right’
and ‘left,’ i.e., as solar and lunar forms of prana none of the known theories gives the right explana­
tion of the force of Kundalini. Sometimes it is con­
on the human or mundane plane—and on the
nected with sex, with sex energy, that is with the
other hand as ‘above’ and ‘below,’ i.e., as im­ idea of the possibility of using sex energy for other
material and material forms of akasa (ether) on purposes. This latter is entirely wrong because
the ‘vertical axis’ of cosmic-spiritual realm. This Kundalini can be in anything. And above all, Kunda­
integration is experienced in successive stages, lini is not anything desirable or useful for man’s
 Yantras from the Hindu tantric
tradition.

Tibetan mandala showing twelve

zodiac animals and the eight trigrams
of the I Ching, surrounded by the
fiery Wheel of Time (Kalacakra).
 Tantra [ 41 ]

development. ... In reality Kundalini is the power (yantra), auditory (mantra), and postural-ges­
of imagination, the power of fantasy, which takes tural (mudra) means.
the place of a real function. When a man dreams A yantra literally means “a tool or instrument
instead of acting, when his dreams take the place of serving to hold,” that is, a diagram designed to
reality, when a man imagines himself to be an eagle,
hold the attention during meditation and sup­
a lion, or a magician, it is the force of Kundalini
acting in him. Kundalini can act in all centers and
port the practitioner’s effort to maintain concen­
with its help all the centers can be satisfied with the tration, or one-pointedness, while practicing a
imaginary instead of the real.23 particular technique. Some yantras are in the
form of geometric designs, often interlaced tri­
The confusion surrounding the functions of angles superimposed on flower-type designs
the cakras and the role of kundalini afford a good with varying number of petals, usually framed
illustration of a process that has happened to by a square with “doors” at the four sides. The
all genuine teachings of evolutionary growth: colors and forms would be understood by the
concepts and symbols that are originally related meditator as referring to definite aspects of the
to certain definite experiences encountered in method; just as the colors and shapes on a road
the process of inner work with a teacher, be­ map are understood to refer to definite features
come, in the hands of persons who do not have of the landscape such as rivers and towns.
those experiences because they are not engaged Mandalas are circular yantras developed to a
in the inner work, distorted and fantastically particularly high art form by the Tibetan Bud­
deviated from their original sense. Subsequent dhists. They may be regarded as extemalizations
academic commentators and translators who of the state of wholeness, the center point of
know only the language and not the methods or creative energy, and the series of stages through
the work, only compound the distortion. The which the center is reached and integration at­
situation is not unlike what would happen if we tained. Carl Jung observed that patients who
didn’t know anything about flying, nor even that were beginning to integrate fragmented psychic
flying was possible, and we found an aircraft components into a totality, would spontaneously,
operating manual and tried to interpret it. Not without having any knowledge of Tantric Bud­
having either the equivalent terms in our own dhism, begin to see simple mandala-t\rpe forms
language, nor the structures and functions of in their dreams. This led Jung to formulate the
the aircraft to which the terms refer, the results notion that the mandala is an “archetype of psy­
could only be hopeless confusion. And it would chic integration.”
be harmless confusion, if it weren’t for the fact Tibetan Buddhists made the process, which
that the aircraft in this instance is the human in Jung’s patients operated unconsciously, into
organism, and misinterpretations can be made a conscious deliberate method. The mandala be­
which are hazardous to health and obstructive comes a chart for a gradually unfolding series
to growth. of visualization exercises. To the initiate, the
mandala is a map of a series of stages by which
Tools of transformation an experience of wholeness-unity is reached.
Thus, for example, the outer border of the man­
The union of solar and lunar energies, the in­ dala usually consists of three concentric rings:
tegration of higher and lower functions, the the outermost ring of fire, to purify by burning
harmonizing and balancing of the cakras, the away false concepts; a ring of vajra, “diamond-
purification of nadts, are expressions referring thunderbolts,” to indicate indestructible essence-
to processes of inner work. In addition, the tan- consciousness; and a ring of lotus petals, to in­
tric researchers devoted much attention to the dicate opening of the psyche to the light of
integration of inner and outer, and particularly wisdom. Then there are frequently areas, called
to the transmutation of sensoiy experience from “cemeteries,” in which the sloughed-off aspects
a binding to a liberating role, through visual and fragments of ego-consciousness are depicted
Tibetan painting showing fierce Bucldha in Yab-Yum embrace with female
consort, expressing consuming fire aspect of tantric yoga.
 Tantra [ 43 ]

dead and dying; and there is usually a massive the creation and dissolution of forms and images
square with four entrances on the sides, each in his own consciousness.25
often guarded by fierce images of divinities. The basic symbolism of the mandala is uni­
The role of the demonic and ferocious Bud­ versal, and analogous forms can be found in
dha images in Tibetan Lamaism can be under­ ever)' religious system, from the stained-glass
stood as externalizations of the consuming fire rosetta windows of the Gothic cathedrals, to the
power necessary for the destruction (de-struc­ sand paintings of the North American Indians.
turing) of the false, personality-bound concepts Among the latter, the circular paintings with
and emotional factors obstructing the path to multicolored sands (which were always dis­
enlightenment. In order to combat the terrifying solved within twelve hours after use) are ori­
images produced by his own “unconscious,” the ented specifically toward healing; the patient is
initiate must himself become equally ferocious, placed in the center and the particular symbols
like one of the flame-surrounded, blood-drink­ and images used are chosen by the initiate medi­
ing, weapon-wielding, eyes-bulging, demon- cine man to guide all the senses and forces of
crushing, multi-headed, many-armed images of the patient’s body and soul toward wholeness.
the mandala. Paradoxically, there are often “During the ceremony the patient becomes the
fierce figures who are also in ijab-yum embrace apex of the whole cosmos, and, amidst the out­
with their female consort, indicating clearly that pouring of living attention, he becomes the cen­
they represent breaking-through forces on the ter of a circle of prayer.”20
way to integration. At the outer edges of the The symbolism of the Tibetan mandalas (par­
flame-filled aura (or field) of these warrior Bud­ ticularly those with a fierce image at the center)
dhas one will often find small grotesque puppet­ is also related to the labyrinth, the mazelike city
like figures falling off and away: these represent of the interior, which holds at its core the great­
the false-to-fact images that are eliminated in est dread, and which the initiate must enter in
the consuming fires and are sloughed off like order to slay and overcome that fear-generating
worn-out masks. image in his own psyche. Other types of man­
The meditator thus identifies himself with the dalas again are more paradisal in character, full
figures on the mandala to induce a certain state of light, joyous beings, harmonious landscapes,
of consciousness by a kind of resonance process. sweet colors and forms. Paradise, or as it is
Having entered the square sanctuary, there are sometimes called by the Buddhists, the “Four
often more Buddha figures, sometimes four or States of Formless Existence,” was regarded as
eight emanating out from a central one, again
a level of consciousness attainable in meditative
representing different aspects of the nature of
practice, but not the highest state (nirvana).
the immanent Higher Self on emotional or men­
“These four states of consciousness, which are
tal planes of consciousness. The mudras made
among the highest attainable, . . . are reached in
by the figures, their colors, and the symbols they
hold would carry definite experiential meanings yogic trance induced by deep meditation. So
to the initiate. “By mentally entering the man­ transcendent are they that the unwisely directed
dala, the vogin approaches his own ‘center’... to yogin is apt to mistake the realization of them
reach the center the vogin re-enacts and masters for the realization of Nirvana” 27
the cosmic process, for the mandala is an image Although on one level the yantras are techni­
of the world . . . and starting from this mono­ cal devices for channeling psychic energy dur­
graphic ‘support’ he can find the mandala in his ing meditation, they can, and are, of course, also
own body.” 24 seen on the symbolic or philosophic level. The
Through the mandala, by the creation and famous Sri Yantra, which consists simply of a
dissolution of a visual microcosm, the adept set of nine interlaced triangles of different size,
learns to know and understand the processes of five downward pointing and four upward, is
[ 44 ] Maps of Consciousness

probably technically a chart showing a way of Mantras are devices for tuning and centering
balancing the cakras. Looking at it philosophi­ auditory perception in such a way that the pre­
cally, Heinrich Zimmer wrote: cise intoning of selected sounds can induce a
definite state of consciousness. Mantra is the
The nine signify the primitive revelation of the essence of prayer: in prayer, as usually under­
Absolute as it differentiates into graduated polari­ stood in Western and other religions, the sym­
ties, the creative activity of the cosmic male and bolic meaning of the words only is considered,
female energies on successive stages of evolution. whereas in mantra the meaning is often irrele­
. . . The Absolute is to be visualized by the concen­
vant, or even absent, and the focus for the yogi
trating devotee as a vanishing point or dot, ‘the
drop’ (bindu), amidst the interplay of all the tri­ is on the evocative (“calling-forth”) power of
angles. This bindu is the power-point, the invisible, the vibratory sound patterns. Thus the classic
elusive center from which the entire diagram ex­ Indian mantra OM has no meaning in the usual
pands. And now, whereas four of the triangles link sense, yet it contains in a way the whole
with their . . . counterparts, the fifth, or innermost, “ground” and power of the universe. In Indian
remains over, to unite with the invisible point.28 music the tonic OM produced by the tamboura
provides continuous undercurrent and support,
One might wonder at the extensive use of the source and the returning point, the home
visualization techniques in Tantric Hinduism base as it were, for the dialogue and interplay
and Buddhism. How does the yogi distinguish between the melodic weavings of the female-
between, on the one hand, illusory images magnetic string instrument and the dynamic-
(maya) that keep him in bondage through de­ male rhythmic activity of the drums. OM is like
sires and fears to the objects of external per­ the “carrier wave” of the universe, the all-con­
ception and that he attempts to destroy or trans­ taining sound, which, when modulated in fre­
cend; and, on the other hand, the images of the quency or amplitude gives us the audible array
peaceful and wrathful deities and Buddhas that of localized sources of waves.30 These we then
he visualizes and identifies with, and that guide distinguish into sounds and noises, in the same
him in the process of meditation? It is precisely way we discriminate figure and background in
because the deceptive power of maya is so great the array of visible sources of light.
that it must be confronted again and again in The efficacy of sound in evoking feelings and
the work of psychic integration; and because it states of consciousness in us is well known to
is so easy to confuse images with reality, and every performer of and listener to music. Almost
constructive with destructive images, the help all music uses this efficacy in an intuitive way.
of the already awakened man is necessary, for There is no systematic, scientific understanding
otherwise we have fantasy “taking the place of of the precise relationship between sound and
a real function,” as Gurdjieff pointed out. But consciousness. The tantrics and other schools of
if the transmutation of these image-producing, yoga, and especially the Islamic Sufis, attempted
enslaving perceptual processes is successful, to develop such a scientific understanding of the
then, as the tantric texts say: “By the same acts power of sound. The use of the mantra, to this
that cause some men to burn in hell for thou­ day in India the most widely used technique, is
sands of years, the yogin gains his eternal sal­ based on the idea that the guru knows what par­
vation.” 20 Among other aspects, the term illumi­ ticular vibratoiy pattern is needed by the stu­
nation or enlightenment, refers precisely to the dent for his further growth, and so the mantra
ability to see beyond the illusive play of images is handed down in this personal way.
with the Wisdom of Discrimination associated Among the Tantrics, a certain class of mantras,
with the radiant Buddha Amitabha, which dis­ known as bija, or “seed,” mantras assumed spe­
criminates between the “clear light” of uncondi­ cial importance. These were not words, but
tioned consciousness and the “dull light” of the single phonemes such as HUM, TRAM, PHAT,
six worlds of illusion. HR1H, which were associated with cakras and
 Tantra [ 45 ]

parts of the subtle bodies, much as the colors the half-A. With a crackling sound, the flame quickly
and forms of the yantra. Considerable use is also moveth downward; and then, with increased burn­
made of the Sanskrit or Tibetan letters repre­ ing force, it reacheth the navel nerve-centre. The
senting the mantra in highly specific processes letter IIAM being very much melted, the drops of
of inner work. it falling downward, cause the flame to increase in
intensity till it reacheth the heart nerve-centre, then
Here for example is part of an exercise from
the throat nerve-centre, then the brain nerve-centre.
the yoga of psychic heat, one of the Six Yogas of Finally, the flow of the completely melted letter
Naropa: HAM descends to the nerve-centre of the throat and
completely permeateth it; and thereby is experienced
Now visualize, clearly as before, thyself as being 'Bliss of Delight,’ or physical blissfulness.31
Sambhara-chakra, hollow like a blue filmy silk tent,
and at the centre of the vacuity the three chief
psychic-nerves (nadis), the four chief psychic-nerve In other words, the sounds and the physical
centres (or chakras), the half-A, and the letter shape of the letters representing the sounds are
IIAM as vividly defined. The vital-force settelh the here being used as anchoring devices for the
half-A aflame; and, by the heat thus engendered, movements of consciousness during meditative
the letter HAM is melted and the drops of it fall on practice.

Sri Yantra.
[ 46 ] Maps of Consciousness

During the course of training, the mantras be­ loosening and realigning the spine and hence
come associated in the students mind with par­ the central axis, evolved, particularly among the
ticular centers, nadis, or energies, as well as Tibetan and Japanese Buddhists, a series of rit­
with the Buddhas or divinities personifying vari­ ual gestures that channel energy flow through
ous aspects of higher consciousness planes. They the body. To the observer they symbolize dif­
thus come to play a role in the mapping of con­ ferent attitudes and states of feeling; to the
sciousness analogous to the role played bv practitioner they express these attitudes and
mathematical formulae in the mapping of the feeling states.
physical world.32 If the meditator then is able to The classic oriental meditation posture, the
concentrate his awareness, all the factors asso­ cross-legged lotus dsana, represents the smallest
ciated with the mantra will cause his conscious­ circle that can be made with the human body
ness to modulate and extend in the desired ways. and an upright spine; hence the most intense
The btja mantra is not a summary, intellectu­ potential energy focussing power. By contrast,
ally, rather, it relates to the unfolding state of in Agni Yoga, and, to judge by their art, in the
consciousness the way a seed relates to an un­ Egyption Mystery Schools, the free flowing of
folding plant: all the potentialities are contained energy through the entire body, including the
within, needing only to. be awakened. Or, to be pelvis and legs, is valued; and so a sitting pos­
more exact: the seed syllable causes the cor­ ture with uncrossed legs is used. This is not to
responding seed state of consciousness to reso­ say one posture is better than the other—rather,
nate, which then awakens and unfolds that level the purposes are somewhat different.
of consciousness. And the awakening comes To illustrate mudras let us consider the ges­
through awareness. tures and attributes of the five so-called Dhyani
An example of the efficacy of mantra may be Buddhas, who are probably the Tibetan equiv­
pertinent. During a period when I was doing alent of the Judaeo-Christian archangels: guard­
considerable experimentation with a short-acting ians of paradise or representatives of the para­
psychedelic called DMT, I used to be frustrated dise states of consciousness. They are arranged
and annoyed by my inability to prevent a kind
of hyper-reactivity of the eyes in which I would
see repetitive geometric designs with a kind of Mudra of teaching.
unpleasant metallic equality to them. An Indian
friend taught me the use of the mantra RAfyf,
and immediately when I began to use it, the
visual phenomena abated and instead a region
of light began to form in the area of the throat
and heart. It seems the effect of the mantra was
to center the amplified nervous energy, which
had been pointlessly irritating the peripheral
visual system, and turn the energy instead to
opening up the inner spaces.
The third branch of the method of transform­
ing sense experience is mudra, special ges­
tures of the hands which evolved out of the
postures (asanas) of Hatha Yoga. Asanas, as
pointed out before, were designed to strengthen
the body and particularly the nervous system so
it could tolerate the higher frequency energies
which would be received during meditation.
From the asanas, which principally involve
 Tantra [ 47 ]

on a four-petalled lotus, each in Yab-Yum without being deprived of their form.” 33 His
(father-mother) embrace with his consort. In mudra is the earth-touching mudra, in which the
the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the Bardo Tho- right hand is over the right knee, touching earth
dol, they appear as the “peaceful deities” in the with the finger tips, while the left is lying, palm
second phase of the experience, after the high­ upward, in the lap. The dynamic right-side en­
est, pure white-light phase, has passed. The ergy is here grounded: this is the mudra alleg­
Dhyanl Buddha of the Center is called “Vairo- edly made by Gautama, the historical Buddha,
chana”: his body is white and he represents the when just before his enlightenment he was chal­
Dharma-Dhdtu, wisdom of pure, primordial lenged to his severest test by Mara, the Lord of
consciousness, also known as the Wisdom of the Death. “Who are you, to seek enlightenment?”
Universal Law. His mudra is one related to his asks the Dark Lord; and Gautama’s reply was
function as teacher of the Law: his two hands to call the earth to witness, with this mudra, that
are raised to the level of the heart, the right is it was not he, the personality, who was seeking
palm outward, the left makes a circle with the final goal, but rather his Immortal Self,
thumb and first finger. Thus, the receptive left which had devoted many lifetimes preparing for
appropriately holds the Wheel of the Law, while this moment of realization. With that, he was
the expressive right allows its energy to stream able to maintain the mirrorlike wisdom of im­
outward. partial perception and be freed from Mara’s
illusory threats. Experimentally it has been
found that this is an excellent mudra to use on a
Earth-touching mudra bad trip, in moments of fear or turmoil: if the
(adapted for Western sitting). earth-touching gesture of the mirrorlike wisdom
is remembered, it will surely help to reestablish
contact with the ground.

Mudra of giving (adapted).

The Dhyanl Buddha of the East is called “Ak-

sobhya”; his body is blue and he represents the
Mirrorlike Wisdom of Equality, in which “things
are freed from their ‘thingness,’ their isolation,
[ 48 ] Maps of Consciousness

The Dhyani Buddha of the South is called

“Ratna-Sambhava,” the “jewel-born,” whose body
is golden yellow like the sun at noon and who
exemplifies the Wisdom of Equality, love and
compassion for all beings. In his mudra, the ges­
ture of giving, the left hand is again resting in
the center of the body, while the right is in the
same position as before, over the right knee,
but the palm is turned out, thumb and fore­
finger touching. Pure positive feeling radiates
forth from the open hand on the right.

Mudra of meditation (adapted).

facing out, in a gesture which signifies “Fear

not.” This again ;s excellent for nonverbal com­
munication in states where words are inadequate
or unacceptable.
Although the specific mantras of the Indian
tantrics might prove difficult to adapt to the
Western mind, one can see that abstract yantras
and mudras are universal enough to allow for
use by anyone. And since they are formed, es­
pecially the mudras, according to the intrinsic,
The Dhyani Buddha of the West is called verifiable design of the human organism, and are
“Amitabha”; his color is red and he is the per­ not arbitrary codes, they could be part of a truly
sonification of the Discriminative Wisdom of universal, nonverbal language.
Inner Vision. His hands rest in his lap, right The ritual exaltation and transmutation of
hand in left, holding a lotus, the mudra of pure sense experience in tantra is a kind of sacrifice in
centering and creative meditation. the original meaning of that term: a “making
The Dhyani Buddha of the North is “Amogha- sacred,” sacer facere, of that which was not sa­
Siddlii,” whose color is green and who repre­ cred. An activity or process is made sacred when
sents the All-Accomplishing Wisdom, the power it is done, not for ego-personality, but for Higher
to act wisely; his double vajra symbolizes in­ Self, for the God within, and for the furthering
ward and outward oriented spiritual activity. of the evolutionary process whose goal it is to
His mudra is: left hand receptively centered, and let the Higher Self be realized more and more
right raised up to the level of the heart, palm through the ego-personality and body. Thus
 Tantra [ 49 ]

only from the personality’s point of view is sac­ Our souls, (which, to advance their state.
rifice a kind of deprivation, whence it has ac­ Were gone out,) hung ’twixt her, and me.
quired a negative connotation.
Nowhere is the procedure of making sacred, And while our souls negotiate there,
We like sepulchral statues lay;
or performing a sacred ceremony, more charged
All day, the same our postures were,
with both positive and negative emotion than in And we said nothing, all the day. . . .
the area of ritual sexual union, or maitlmna. This
is the attempt to externalize the union of male This ecstasy does unperplex
and female which has first to take place within. (We said) and tell us what we love,
Then, from the inner union of the couple, within We see by this, it was not sex,
each one and with each other, they proceed to We see, we saw not what did move:
the outer expression of this union, in a slow, de­
liberate, ceremonial manner; instead of, as is But as all several souls contain
the usual situation, two separated persons at­ Mixture of things, they know not what.
Love, these mixed souls does mix again,
tempting, inevitably vainly or at best very mo­
And makes both one, each this and that. . . .
mentarily, to attain union bv external physical
means. The rite was practiced in stages, only When love, with one another so
after lengthy preparations to ensure that inner Interinanimates two souls,
union preceded outer. “The neophyte . . . must That abler soul, which thence doth How,
approach the ‘devout woman by stages and Defects of loneliness controls.
transform her into a goddess. . . . Thus for the
first four months, he should wait upon her like We then, who are this new soul, know,
a servant, sleep in the same room with her, then Of what we are composed, and made,
at her feet. During the next four months, while For th’atomies of which we grow,
continuing to wait upon her as before, he sleeps Are souls, whom no change can invade. . . .
in the same bed, on the left side. During a third
So must pure lovers’ souls descend
four months, he will sleep on the right side, then T’affections, and to faculties,
they will sleep embracing, ...” 34 Which sense may reach and apprehend,
The sense and essence of maithuna has prob­ Else a great prince in prison lies.
ably never been more lucidly described than in
John Donne’s poem The Ecstasy: The tantric movement flowered and spread
throughout India and neighboring countries
Where, like a pillow on a bed, during a time when Europe was plunged in the
A pregnant bank swelled up, to rest Dark Ages of oppression by religious dogma and
The violets reclining head, feudal power. Later, when Europe’s spirit blos­
Sat we two, one anothers best; somed in the renaissance and enlightenment of
science, India sank into a morass of superstition
Our hands were firmly cemented and inertia from which it has still not emerged.
With a fast balme, which thence did spring, Is there some kind of yin-yang relationship here?
Our eye-beams twisted, and did thread Interestingly, for centuries, Indian popular re­
Our eyes, upon one double string; ligion has known and worshipped only two
members of the original trinity, namely Vishnu
So to entergraft our hands, as yet
Was all the means to make us one,
(more by those with worldly aims) and Siva
And pictures in our eyes to get (by those with spiritual ambitions). Brahma,
Was all our propagation. the Creator, seems to have been forgotten; pun­
dits explain that his creative role is over now,
As twixt two equal Annies, Fate and it’s up to the other two. The West, by con­
Suspends uncertain victory, trast, has almost exclusively emphasized the
[ 50 ] Maps of Consciousness

Creator-God, the one who made it all, and has conservative power group in the West, making
had a very ambiguous relationship to the des­ the Holy Trinity into a quatemity. A new age of
troyer-transformer, at times ignoring him alto­ union of opposites is at hand: God the Mother-
gether, at others grudgingly recognizing his Father, “as above, so below.”
role in the Devil. Vishnu, the All-Quarters Main- Confirming this trend, we see the current
tainer, is not known at all, except by mystics and re-emphasis and revaluation of the body as the
students of the occult. vehicle of inner growth (only very recently
One could argue here that India has made could books called Joy or Sense Relaxation have
a fundamental mistake in not recognizing the become best sellers) as part of a modern move­
principle of continuous creation: creation is al­ ment with many features common to the tantra.
ways going on, within and without us, and cre­ And yet, we cannot simply use the Indian ways,
ative power can be used to solve problems and or the Japanese ways of Zen. Our culture is
remove obstacles in the outer and the inner different, our children are programmed differ­
world. The West, playing perfectly its counter­ ently, our body constitution is different, and the
part role, has ignored the archecologist Vishnu, evolution of consciousness has not stood still
and projected its own destructive tendencies since the Middle Ages. We need to extract the
outward onto others, running rampant all over viable essence from the tantras and other an­
the globe in wanton aggression masquerading cient ways and convert it to our needs, using
as defense. (Note that India has never, in recent what we can, experimentally, in a context of
centuries, waged a foreign war.) testing and verification.
A planetary synergetic synthesis is called for, The new, and yet very ancient, Agni Yoga
here and now. We need to learn the oriental’s methods of Actualism can provide such a con­
magnetic receptivity and openness to higher text. In an old Tibetan proverb it was said:
forces; they need to learn our dynamic active “One must learn to protect oneself against the
creativity in harnessing and adapting the forces tigers to which one has given birth, as well as
of Great Nature. The Orient, as the yin side of against those begotten by others.” By bringing
the planet, has been female oriented, seeking light we can discriminate what is ours and what
the power of the Mother principle: the “valley is not, and with consuming fire eliminate the
spirit” of the Taoists, the Shakti power of tigers that obstruct our growth.
the Hindus, the “all-containing void” of the Ja­
panese Buddhists, to the extreme of the Kali-
EXPERIENTIAL EXPERIMENTS
worshippers of Bengal. The West, under the
Judaeo-Christian tradition, has expressed yang There are innumerable books on Hatha Yoga
force almost exclusively: our God is Jehovah, or describing in more or less detail the various
a Father in Heaven (he often has a beard), our postures and breathing exercises of that tradition.
goal has ever been the conquest of the forces of One cannot recommend studying these methods
Nature, and the patriarchal, autocratic excesses from a book, they should always be learned from
stemming from this orientation are well known a qualified teacher. In particular, breathing ex­
to all. ercises of a complex nature are best avoided un­
For centuries Western seekers have sought in less properly supervised.
the Orient the other, missing half of life. Never However, the mere observation of breathing,
before now have so many Westerners practiced without any attempt to control it or influence it
the ways of yoga, or cultivated the exquisite re­ in any way, can provide interesting results in
ceptivity of Zen. Carl Jung was much pleased terms of “mindfulness.” Thus, you simply breathe
by the Papal Bull of 1950, in which Pius XII as normal, but observe the process, and say to
promulgated the Assumption of the Blessed yourself, or think, “I am breathing in, I am
Virgin Mary. Jung felt this represented a greater breathing out.” By thinking thus, you amplify
acceptance of the feminine element by the most awareness of the breathing as a process of
 Tantra [ 51 ]

energy distribution through the body; at the same the other, and this alternates in cycles of ap­
time, you begin to learn to direct mental proximately twenty-seven minutes. It is valuable
processes, so that the mind’s activity is where to begin to observe the different quality of
you want it to be, rather than following random awareness and body feeling when “sun-breath”
associations as usual. This is the beginning of or “moon-breath” is predominating. You call
“mindfulness,” or what Gurdjieff called “self­ induce a changeover in a variety of different
remembering.” ways, the simplest of which is to lie on your
This exercise can then be extended to: “I am side, with the breathing side to the floor. Gener­
breathing a long breath in, I am breathing a ally, in a few minutes you will observe the shift.
long breath out,” and “I am breathing a short The moment of changeover is one in which
breath in. I am breathing a short breath out.” psychic energy would be flowing through the
Then, “I experience my whole body, breathing central nadl, and hence you should observe it
in, I experience my whole body, breathing out,” attentively. It has been suggested that this
and “I experience serenity breathing in, I experi­ breath changing is part of the reason for the
ence serenity breathing out.” In this sequence, turning we do in our sleep, which also follows
gradually the observation of breathing becomes an approximate half-hour cycle.
the observation of more and more physical and There are many mandalas available commer­
mental processes. cially as posters and you can experiment with
A parallel exercise, which also involves only these along the lines of tantric practice. The
impartial observation and does not interfere basic procedure, as stated, is to fixate the center
with the natural rhythm of breathing, comes and place one’s awareness in the entire field of
from a series of 101 tantric miniature exercises, the mandala; then, keeping the central fixation
called Centering (in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, edited point, gradually move awareness inward from all
by Paul Reps). The myth is that Devi, the four sides simultaneously until it is fully con­
Goddess, asked Siva, the Lord of Yogis, “how centrated on the seed-point or hindu, and then
to perceive ultimate reality, highest truth”; so to go through that point. The most striking
that his answer might enlighten all men, Siva optical effects, though not necessarily the most
replied with the 101 ways. Many have to do with valuable in other ways, will be obtained with
breathing: you put your attention on the turning mandalas consisting of closely spaced concen­
point between in-breath and out-breath; and on tric rings, as in some op art productions.
the other turning point, when out-breath be­ The use of mantras, such as the chanting of
comes in-breath. This requires no change, or stop­ OM, individually or in groups, can be much
page, just awareness. In doing this, you get the enhanced if cognizance is taken of the prevailing
feeling as if it were possible, at those moments, sound of the room. Indian musicians always tune
to slip through the cycle of time; a sudden feel­ their instruments to the “silent sound” of the en­
ing of lightness and a subtle release is experi­ vironment in which they are. Each space has
enced. Another way from the same series, is to its sound. Also, each individual has his sound, his
visualize the spinal column as a hollow tube, and tonic, and through letting it appear naturally, as
inside it a hair-fine thread, and then put all one’s part of the outgoing breath, without any attempt
awareness on that thread—just there. to sing or chant, this natural sound can be dis­
An extension of this, is to shift your weight covered. To do so, you must start very slowly
while standing, very slowly, from one leg to the and softly and allow it to come from within, of
other, without lifting, and to note the relation­ itself, without being forced. “The merging of
ship to the line of gravity, and to attend espe­ mind is achieved by listening to inner sound,”
cially to the precise moment of crossing the says one tantric text.
central line. To discover and explore the power of sound,
According to tantric theory we are usually with instruments, it is best to begin with those
breathing predominantly through one nostril or producing very simple, pure tones, rather than
[ 52 ] Maps of Consciousness

the rich and complex mixtures of our orchestral tures from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, relevant espe­
instruments. Thus gongs, bells, large drums, cially to maithuna:
cymbals, or tambouras, are excellent for these
purposes. You can make useful discoveries in the “While being caressed, enter the caressing as
perception of sound by following John Cage’s everlasting life.”
procedures of ignoring the distinction between
“At the start of sexual union, keep attentive on
what we consider “sound” and what we call
the fire in the beginning, and, so continuing,
“noise,” and allowing everything. You will find,
avoid the embers in the end.”
that once divorced from their identity much
more will be heard: when “sound of car,” “When in such embrace your senses are
“sound of door slamming,” or “sound of bird” shaken as leaves, enter this shaking.”
are separated from their thingness, as it were,
“When some desire comes, consider it. Then,
in an auditory Mirrorlike Wisdom and instead
suddenly, quit it.”
simply received as sound waves of certain pitch,
certain volume, certain timbre, these sounds can
be heard in the environment in a way you had
not dreamed was possible. Why don’t you try NOTES AND REFERENCES
it now? 1. Shashibhusan Dasgupta, Obscure Religious Cults
(Calcutta: Firma Mukhopadhyay, 1962), p. 56.
2. Ibid., p. 75.
3. Ibid., p. 89.
4. Advaya-vajra-samgraha, in Dasgupta, Obscure Re­
ligious Cults, p. 26.
5. Mircea Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom
(New York: Pantheon Books, Bollingen Series LVI,
1958), p. 201.
6. Ibid., p. 202.
7. Ibid., p. 206.
8. Ibid., p. 202.
9. Quoted in Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols
in Indian Art and Civilization (New York: Harper &
Row Publishers, Harper Torchbooks, 1946), p. 128n.
10. Vyakta-bhava-nugata-tattva-siddhi, in Dasgupta,
Obscure Religious Cults, pp. 31-32.
11. Lama Anagarika Govinda, The Foundations of
Tibetan Mysticism (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.;
London: Rider & Co., 1960), p. 148.
12. See, .for example, John Gaito, “DNA and RNA
as Memory. Molecules,” Psychological Review, 70 (1963):
471-480; James V. McConnell, “Memory Transfer
through Cannibalism in Planarians,” Journal of Neuro­
psychiatry (August, 1962): 42-48; Walter Moore and
Henry Mahler, “Introduction to Molecular Psychology,”
Journal of Chemical Education 42 (1965): 49-60.
The mudras of the Dhyaxri Buddhas have been 13. W. Y. Evans-Wentz, Tibetan Yoga and Secret
described above. In addition, the mudra of Doctrines (London: Oxford University Press, 1935; pa­
hands held palm to palm in front of the chest is perback, 1967), p. 324.
admirable: a gesture of prayer, signifying the 14. Lama Govinda, Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism,
union of opposites within, and used in India as a p. 135.
15. Shafica Karagulla, Breakthrough to Creativity (Los
form of greeting, which says: “The God that I Angeles: De Vorss, 1967), p. 125.
am salutes the God that you are.” 16. Robert O. Becker, Charles Bachman, and Howard
To conclude, a few more of the tantric minia­ Friedman, “The Direct Current Control System,” New
 Tantra [ 53 ]

York State Journal of Medicine (April, 1962): 1169- passes literally from the peripheral optic system, which
1176. is oriented toward the perception of external objects, to
17. See Wilhelm Reich, The Function of the Orgasm the central brain system, which is more oriented toward
(New York: Bantam Books, 1967; orig. pub., 1942); and the synthesizing and assimilation of perception and
Ellsworth Baker, “Wilhelm Reich,” Journal of Orgonomtj inner states.
1, no. 1 (1968). 26. David Villasenor, Tapestries in Sand (Healdsburg,
18. Lama Govinda, Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, Calif.: Naturegraph Co., 1963), p. 70.
p. 155. 27. Evans-Wentz, Tibetan Yoga, p. 93m.
19. Mircea Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, 28. Zimmer, Indian Art, p. 147.
p. 239. 29. Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, p. 263.
20. Ibid., pp. 238-239. 30. I owe this analogy to Robert Lowe.
21. Dasgupta, Obscure Religious Cults, p. 93. 31. Evans-Wentz, Tibetan Yoga, pp. 204-205.
22. Lama Govinda, Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, 32. Such methods of compressing a great deal of in­
p. 156. formation into a single formula, whether auditory or
23. Quoted in P. D. Ouspensky, In Search of the graphic, were formerly the object of intensive study,
Miraculous (New York: Harcourt Brace & World, 1949), especially in Asiatic countries, and especially before the
p. 220. invention of the printing press. There is, for example, a
24. Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, p. 225. graphic formula which supposedly contains within it the
25. The concentric ring structure of the mandala is entire corpus of laws and principles used in Tibetan
suggestive of a model of its action in terms of the physi­ medicine, with its macro-microcosmic correspondences
ology of the optic system. We know that the light- and relationships. See P. Cyrill von Kowin-Krasinski,
sensitive rods and cones of the retina are pointed back­ O.S.B., Tibetische Medizinphilosophie (Zurich: Origo
ward so that light is actually received by these receptors Verlag, 1953). Lama Govinda’s entire book Foundations
through a fine mesh of millions of fibers, similarly to of Tibetan Mysticism is devoted to the explication of the
the way we see a scene through a net-covered window. “Great Mantra” Om mani padme hum. Eight thousand
Dr. Gerald Oster has suggested that it is this net of stanzas of a Mahayana treatise were contracted into the
fibers, plus the moire effects which result from its super­ seed syllable pram of the Prajha-Paramita Sutra.
position on lattice patterns in the environment, which 33. Lama Govinda, Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism,
may account for many of the optical effects induced by p. 119.
psychedelic substances. See G. Oster, “Moir6 Patterns 34. Mircea Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom,
and Visual Hallucinations,” Psychedelic Review, no. 7 p. 266. Further, more extensive treatments of the tantric
(1966). Now, the so-called blind spot in the eye is the approach to sex can be found in Omar Garrison's Tantra:
point near the foveal center where the fibers converge, The Yoga of Sex (New York: Julian Press, 1964); and
and bunched into the optic cable, pass to the brain. from a Taoist viewpoint, in Alan Watts’ Nature, Man
Thus, when the yogi in the process of mandala medita­ and Woman (New York: New American Library, Men­
tion, gradually moves his awareness from the periphery, tor Books, 1960). A rather abstruse, but fascinating,
through the four doors, to the center, and then passes discussion is found in Herbert V. Guenther’s Yuganaddha
through the center (hindu), or the vanishing point, it —The Tantric View of Life (Benares: Chowkhamba
may be that his point of awareness at that moment Sanskrit Series, 1952).
 TAROT
Signposts on the Way In a famous passage in The Repub­
lic, Plato compares the human situation to that
of prisoners chained to the wall of a cave, watch­
ing with fascination the shadows cast on the wall
in front of them by flickering flames behind;
unaware that outside the cave things are seen
in the radiant light of the daytime sun, unable
to escape because they do not recognize that
they are bound. The subtle, yet pervasive, en­
trapment of man through the illusion-generating
There is no such thing as an processes of sense perception has been a central
immortal work of art. There is one art— theme of mystics, prophets, seers, and teachers
for as long as mankind lias been inquiring into
the greatest of all, the art of making the nature of consciousness.
a complete human being of oneself. Contemporary physiologists could amplify this
theme by pointing out that the process of sense-
A. R. OR AGE perception is much more than simply receiving
stimuli from sources in the environment and
learning to recognize them as objects. Now we
know that in addition to the afferent fibers carry­
ing electrical code impulses from the peripheral
sense receptors to the brain, there are efferent
fibers carrying signals from the brain to the peri­
phery, whose function it is to screen, select, and
filter irrelevant or unnecessary data. Some physi­
ologists estimate that as much as 50 percent of
the information reaching the eye does not get be­
yond the eye. The filtering mechanisms by
which the incoming data are screened are geneti­
cally and culturally transmitted programs: we
see what we are programmed to see.1 And in
this way we are literally bound by our per­
ceptual mechanisms.
The very word fascination, indicating intense
attractive interest, originally meant spellbinding.
 Tarot [ 55 ]

and is derived from the Latin fasces, which were stems from the fact that all these heros are en­
bound bundles of rods carried before Roman gaged in the same eternal quest.
magistrates in the streets as symbols of authority. Indeed, the myth of the hero path is what
Fascinating phenomena elicit in us binding im­ Jung would call an archetype. Jung derived this
ages that authoritatively dominate consciousness, concept to explain the recurrence of common
or, as the hippies say, they “cop your mind.” themes in world literature, mythology, and in
Once this subtle trap was recognized, numer­ the dreams and fantasies of his contemporaries.
ous means were proposed to escape from it. In “These typical images and associations are what
the ascetic tradition of classical Indian yoga or I call archetypal ideas. The more vivid they are,
Christian monasticism the attempt is to avoid the* the more they will be colored by particularly
trap by subduing and denying the function of the strong feeling-tones . . . they impress, influence,
physical organs of sensation perception. The fascinate us.” 3 The “hero” is an archetype, so
argument is that if the outstreaming of psychic is the “shadow,” the “anima,” the mandala. It was
energy into fascinating sense-objects is checked, one of Jung’s significant insights that many of
then this energy can be turned to inner attune- the most dominant and influential images are
ment with higher forces and lead to liberation. personifications, either in a negative, distorting,
While this argument may have a certain validity, limiting fashion, or in the role of helpful, guid­
in extreme and deviated forms this tradition de­ ing, messengers: that is, they are self-images,
generates into the life-negating austerities of either masks which hide the true self or models
the Indian fakirs, and the vindictive rage of the that show the way.
puritanical Christian against natural bodily, Myths and tales may make the valuable teach­
especially sexual, functions. The alternative path, ings of transformation more accessible to the
followed by Taoists, Tantrics, Sufis, Alchemists, common understanding, and they may com­
and Actualists is to remember that it is not the municate to those who would be unable to
body or the organs of perception per se which comprehend the teachings directly. However,
are the trap, but rather the programs and im­ they arc still culture bound and limited by the
prints under which they are operating. And so, linguistic and literary media of the age and time.
by means of transformation, by changing the So it is not surprising that an attempt should
form, they strive to make the body a living have been made to express the archetypes of
temple of the Higher Self instead of a prison, a psychic transformation in direct, visual form; a
responsive instrument instead of a cave of form that would resonate in the mind and
phantoms. feelings of the perceiver without the inter­
We have seen how tantrie adepts devised mediary of language or code. To show in images
yantras and mandalas to represent, in graphic the steps that must lie taken, the many phases of
and visual form, specific methods and stages of the inner work, and thus to ensure the teachings
the process of psychic transformation. We find a universality that transcends cultural and lin­
further that in myths and fairy tales ancient guistic conventions. This is the Tarot.
schools of wisdom often embodied teachings re­ The set of mythic images which constitutes
lating to the stages of the path of transformation. the Tarot has exercised a singular fascination on
In these myths the inner journey to the discovery the minds and feelings of many persons, par­
and realization of the Higher Self—the trials and ticularly those who are consciously engaged in
obstacles to be overcome as well as the sudden a search for the Way. The emotional resonance
breakthroughs and steps of initiation—are dis­ and mental interest, which it produces, are in no
guised as an outer journey, a hero’s quest. And way diminished by the fact that all attempts to
we find that there is always a common pattern trace the Tarot’s origin or history have been
to this myth of the hero “with a thousand faces”:2 amazingly unsuccessful. It presents itself to us as
whether his name is Gilgamesh, Rama, Orpheus, a kind of phenomenon, an unexplained message
or Siegfried, there exists a communality which in the form of images of obscure origin, that by
[ 56 ] Maps of Consciousness

their power to affect us challenge and stimulate, is a most fragile thing, and most difficult to find, at
and awaken deep echoes in long-forgotten strata all events in a continuous line, proposed to confide
of the psyche. Like the Sphinx, an equally ob­ the scientific traditions to vice. The latter, he said,
scure image of equally mysterious origin, the would never fail completely, and through it we are
sure of a long and durable preservation of our prin­
Tarot poses a riddle: what is the meaning? And,
ciples. This opinion was evidently adopted, and the
since no external explanations that would allow
game chosen as a vice was preferred. The small
us to categorize it in neat, pre-programmed con­ plates were then engraved with the mysterious
cepts, come with it, we are forced to look within figures which formerly taught the most important
if we want to solve the riddle. And so it scientific secrets, and since then players have trans-
awakens us a little more to the unused treasures, mittted this Tarot from generation to generation,
which lie buried within each and every one of far better than the most virtuous men on earth could
us. have done.4
The Tarot apparently made its first recorded
appearance in Europe around the fourteenth Although there is apparently no scholarly evi­
century, as a deck of cards used in games of dence whatsoever for an Egyptian origin of the
chance and also by fortune-tellers for divination. Tarot, nor for an Indian or Arabic origin, the
Some attribute it to the Gypsies; others argue story or myth of its origin has a flavor of truth
that decks were already in existence almost a to it.
century before the Gypsies first arrived in Eu­ The strategy of the Egyptian priests succeeded
rope. Assuredly, the Gypsies took it over and almost too well since the playing deck which has
used it for divinatory purposes with undoubted come down to our times as a popular game con­
flair and intuition. The association of a wisdom sists only of the so-called minor arcana; and the
teaching with a divinatory technique reminds us major arcana, or greater trumps, which sup­
at once of the I Ching, which is a similar com­ posedly contained the most important secrets,
bination; and the point can well be made that by were “lost in the shuffle,” as it were. But the
association with a technique of divination the Gypsies, fortune-tellers, occultists, and perhaps,
wisdom teaching most probably survived much esoteric schools of adepts such as the Knights
longer than it would have without. The ancient Templar and Freemasons, preserved the entire
sages apparently felt that man’s thirst for wisdom deck to be resurrected now at the dawn of our
and truth was subject to considerable fluctuation new age.
over time, whereas his desire to predict the It has been proposed that the twenty-two
future and have advance knowledge of his fate cards which make up the major arcana of the
was a much more stable trait. Tarot were, in the Egyptian Mystery Schools,
The compilers of the Tarot demonstrated an hung on the walls of a gallery in the form of
even greater stroke of genius by presenting their tablets or paintings, along with hieroglyphs and
message in the form of a deck of playing cards. other symbols. The initiate then had to pass
The nineteenth-century French occult phi­ through the gallery elucidating the meaning
losopher Dr. Papus proposed (while mysteriously of the symbols, as a kind of test. Fie would be
concealing the source of his information) that able to do so only if he had had certain experi­
Egyptian priests, when faced with the imminent ences. “Initiation,” in other words, was not, as is
destruction of their temples and orders, held a commonly supposed, a process of imparting
council to decide how to transmit their teachings secret knowledge but rather a method of testing
to subsequent generations: whether the initiate had experienced certain
states of consciousness, and then consolidating
At first they thought of confiding these secrets to and validating that experience by means of a
virtuous men secretly recruited by the Initiates them­ symbol and a rite. It is thus more analogous to
selves, who would transmit them from generation the Christian rite of Confirmation, though gener­
to generation. But one priest, observing that virtue ally there appear to have been many stages of
 Tarot [ 57 ]

confirmation-initiation, not just one. In The commentators on the Tarot to the Egyptian caste
Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, a version system, or, as by Grillot de Givry, to the structure
of the life of Jesus supposedly transcribed di­ of medieval society: “the wand, . . . the weapon
rectly from the akashic record, Jesus is described of the peasant, stood for agriculture; the cup, or
as passing through such a series of tests in an sacred vessel, for the clergy; the sword for the
Egyptian School.5 warrior; and the money [pentacles, deniers]
for commerce.” 8 Yet others, including Ouspen-
We will explore the meanings of the major sky, link the suits to the four elements that play
trumps later. The minor trumps, which some such a pervasive role in the various symbolic
experts consider to be a totally separate deck, languages of occult psychology: thus wands are
are the ancestors of our playing deck: they con­ used to represent “fire,” cups stand for “water,”
sist of four suits of fourteen cards each. Each swords for “ah,” and pentacles for “earth.” In
suit has four court cards, King, Queen, Knight, the Tarot for the Aquarian Age, a recently pub­
and Page, one Ace (number one), and cards lished version, the correlations are carried a step
numbered two through ten. In some versions of further in that the elements and suits are linked
these cards, for instance the so-called Minchiate to the four functions of the Jungian theory of
or Florentine set, “the Knights were sometimes types: thinking, feeling, intuiting, and sensing.
monsters of the centaur type, while the Knaves This has the virtue of facilitating psychologically
were sometimes warriors and sometimes serving- more explicit readings or interpretations.0
men.” 6 There are also sets in which the Page In the chapters on alchemy and astrology be­
is replaced by a Maid of Honor, thus pairing the low, we shall discuss the actual meaning of the
sexes in the tetrad of court cards. The relation­ elements as levels of consciousness or higher
ship of the court cards to the structure of medi­ bodies. For purposes of divination the court
eval feudalism is obvious. In divination, the cards have been linked to astrological types.
court cards are often chosen as the “significator,” Thus, the King of Wands would represent a “fire-
the card that represents the questioner; and the sign” male (Aries, Leo, or Sagittarius); the
other cards are then laid out according to certain Queen of Cups a “water-sign” female (Cancer,
schemes to determine “that which crosses him,” Scorpio, or Pisces), etc. They need not literally
“where he comes from,” “his future,” etc. be born under that sign, but represent that type
To arrive at a coherent and consistent inter­ or disposition.
pretation of the numbered cards it would be However one may choose to think of the four
necessary to go into numerology, the use of suits in psychological divination, there is one
numbers as symbols for states of consciousness, card in the major arcana which gives a clue to
which would take us too far afield here. Suffice their inner meaning. This is the Magician.
it to say that numbers, like geometrical figures, The Magician stands holding a wand in his
can be taken to indicate different stages on the raised right hand, his left hand points down, and
path of a man’s inner growth and integration.7 in front of him on a table lie a sword, a cup, and
There are several volumes, including The Pic­ a disc with a pentacle on it. Waite calls them the
torial Key to the Tarot by A. E. Waite, which “counters of the adept,” and Ouspensky says he
list the supposed divinatory meanings of the is “playing with the four signs of the elements.”
various cards and describe various methods of I know of no commentator who has pointed out
“spreading the deck.” the obvious fact that these objects are the
It is interesting to reflect on the significance of tools of the Magician. The Magician in the
the suits. The wands, swords, cups, and pentacles inner sense is not, of course, a juggler who per­
of the Tarot were changed, for unknown reasons, forms tricks for an audience, rather he is an
toward the end of the eighteenth century, to the adept who is aware of and can use laws and
clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds of our modern principles which ordinary man cannot use. Pie
decks. The original symbols were linked by early can change his level of consciousness to both
[ 58 ] Mops of Consciousness

higher and lower, as his upward and down­ seeker will find another system that does work.
ward pointing hands indicate; and he uses tools Separating the pragmatic value of the cards
in his inner work. from the question of the authenticity of their
The notion of psychic tools can be further origin is even more necessary if we wish to avail
elucidated by the following very interesting ourselves of the powerfully evocative images of
passage from the Aquarian Gospel, in which The Tarot for the Aquarian Age. This Tarot
Jesus, when working as a carpenter with his was obtained, according to the authors, from an
father Joseph, one day comments: “These tools unnamed source referred to only as “One,”
remind me of the ones we handle in the work­ through the Ouija board, in a series of sessions
shop of the mind where things are made of involving a group of four persons and lasting
thought and where we build up character . . . several months in 1962. Such a procedure would
We use the compass to draw circles round our tend automatically to make the whole thing sus­
passions and desires to keep them in the bounds pect. not quite “above board,” in the eyes of
of righteousness. We use the axe to cut away many persons trained according to the current
the knotty, useless and ungainly parts and make canons of scientific credibility. I myself have no
the character symmetrical.” 10 reason to doubt the authors’ veracity, knowing
It is quite probable that several of the cards of them personally to be sane and honorable per­
the major arcana contain symbols representing sons not given to deceit nor subject to delusion
actual tools and methods of psychic transforma­ any more than the rest of us. But even if the
tion. The paradox of such symbolism is that it authors had made the whole thing up, had per­
cannot be explained to someone who has not petrated a hoax, let us say, in ascribing their
already understood it in himself. If one has discovery to this nonhuman source, its potential
experienced a certain state of consciousness, or value as guide or map can only be evaluated by
the use of a certain method, the symbol becomes testing it in use.
an easily remembered, synthetic formula or sum­ In the Aquarian Tarot each of the twenty-two
mary of knowledge; if one has not experienced cards, with a new image and new name, is re­
them, no amount of words can convey the garded as a progression from a corresponding
meaning. The meaning is hidden or secret only card of the old deck. The reason for the progres­
in the same sense that the meaning of technical sion is said to be first, to rescue the Tarot sym­
terms in physics or electronics is hidden or secret. bols from their degenerate use as fortune-telling
They are open to anyone willing to take the cards, and secondly, because we are entering a
trouble to learn. new phase, the Aquarian phase, of the cycle of
Whether we choose to regard the twenty-two human evolution-in-consciousness and new sym­
cards of the major trumps as Egyptian initiation bols are called for. It does seem that, in some
symbols, or, as some have proposed, as remnants instances, the cards of the Aquarian Tarot repre­
of still older Atlantean traditions, or, perhaps sent a kind of unfoldment of the concealed mean­
more plausibly, as a consciousness map which a ing of the old. I should hasten to add here that
medieval school grafted onto a deck of Gypsy this is a personal opinion and one not shared by
playing cards, leaving all questions of theii some long-time users of the traditional decks.
origins to the debates of the academicians, we It is perhaps pertinent to digress momentarily
can take them at their face value: that is, we can in order to discuss what is meant by the Aquarian
look at them and see what happens. After all, if, Age. Very slow oscillations in the direction and
when used as a map or guide to consciousness tilt of the earth’s polar axis produce a cycle of
evolution, the cards work, that is, give results in approximately twenty-six thousand years. This
terms of growth of being and understanding, cycle is divided into twelve periods or ages of
they will have served their purpose. If they do about twenty-one hundred years each. The
not work, no harm is done, and perhaps the effect known as “precession of the equinoxes”
 Tarot [ 59 ]

alters the angular relationship of earth, sun, and the Tarot with the Cabala. Though I would
stars through these ages, as a result of which hazard the opinion that much of the attraction
vve are able to plot their time-course by refer­ of the Tarot is due precisely to its independence
ence to the well-known constellations, Aries, from verbal-conceptual systems, there are many
Taurus, etc. Because the constellations differ in who hold that the Tarot, astrology, and the
width, there is disagreement among astronomers Cabala form an inseparable body of knowdedge,
and astrologers as to the precise date of the and that one cannot be understood without the
beginning of the Aquarian Age. For the purposes others. Thus, extensive and elaborate charts and
of the present discussion it is sufficient to note diagrams have been prepared showing the cor­
that the twenty-one-hundred-year cycle which respondences and correlations between planets,
we are now leaving, the Piscean Age, was closely signs, Tarot cards, and Hebrew letters.13 To me,
associated with the Christian religion. There are this seems like a harmless, though useless, di­
in fact many elements in Christianity that sup­ version. It is like comparing and correlating one
port such an association, from the baptismal map with another map without reference to the
water rite, to the use of the fish as a symbol territory. Since, in this case, the territory is the
among early Christians and Christ’s reference to human psyche, the maps will agree insofar as
the disciples as “fishers of men.” Jung has de­ the observers are accurate. Distortions and devia­
voted extensive research to the symbolic con­ tions exist undoubtedly in all systems, since
nection between Christ and the fish.11 error is hard to avoid. But again, at the risk of
The Aquarian Age we are now entering is being repetitive, the map should not be confused
ruled by the air element, and is already marked with the truth, which can only be validated by
by far-reaching explorations of the atmosphere experience.
by planes, rockets, and communications systems, The Cabala is a Hebrew' system of theosophy,
much as the Piscean water age was distinguished based on very ancient Jewish traditions, which
by the technology of sea power. Astrologically, arose in the Middle Ages. It presents a highly
Aquarius is the birth sign of scientists such as complex cosmology and occult psychology using
Galileo and Darwin, and is associated with the as its primary symbolic language the twenty-two
spread of objective knowledge, discovery, and letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The basis and
the revealing of the hidden. The current surge starting-point is the so-called tetragrammaton,
of interest in occult traditions, in mind-manifest­ the name of God, Yahweh, composed of the four
ing drugs, and in new ways of consciousness letters Y, H, W, H. These represent a quaternity
growth, are all held to be manifestations of the which w'as linked to the four elements of al­
dawning Aquarian Age. chemy, the four suits of the Tarot, and other
Consistent with this view is the publication fourfold schemata. In its use of letters, the
of the Aquarian Gospel, which describes, in Cabalistic system is reminiscent of the tantric use
highly plausible manner, the so-called lost years of mantra syllables; though the letters do not
of Jesus as being spent in studies of oriental wis­ seem to have been used so much as inner tools,
dom and in Egyptian Mystery Schools. Con­ but rather as meditative symbols.
sistent also is the publication of a new Tarot to The “Tree of Life” in the Cabala is a cosmo-
mark the new', open phase in the evolution of psychic yantra, showing God’s ten creative
consciousness. It is important that in the new emanations or sephiroth, which, at the same time,
Tarot, the figures “have abandoned thrones, correspond to ten levels of consciousness in man
chariots, robes, and most royal and spiritual and to parts of the human body. The ten
paraphernalia and stand forth nakedly.” 12 spheres u'ere linked to the planets and the
Before going on to examine the major trumps tw'enty-one paths between them were linked to
in detail, in both their old and new' versions, it is the cards of the Tarot. The Tarot cards have
well to say something about the relationship of also been linked to the tw'enty-two letters of the
[ 60 ] Maps of Consciousness

Hebrew alphabet, both in medieval and modern

times. Paul Foster Case, for example, in his
Book of Tokens published a beautiful set of
Tarot meditations in which each image is seen
as revealing the philosophic essence of the cor­
responding letter.14
Other attempts have also been made to order
the twenty-two cards according to geometric or
numerical principles. Ouspensky proposed that
they could be arranged in pairs, 1 with 0, 2
with 21, and so on, down to 11 with 12, and
that the pairs had complementary meanings.15
This seems successful in some instances, not in
others. It has also been noted that the cards
could be arranged in three sets of seven (not
counting the 0 card). Seven has long been con­
sidered a sacred number. According to Gurd-
jieff, it takes seven stages to complete any
cycle of transformations. In his system, the Law
of Seven is used to explain processes ranging
from the digestion of food and the development
of higher bodies, to the arrangement of elements
on the periodic table and the creation of
cosmoses. Conversely, they could also be grouped
as seven triads; and the threefold principle of
activity, rest, and balance has universal applica­
tion, as we have noted. A numerical sequence can
also be constructed as follows: beginning with
one (1), proceeding to duality (2 and 3), to the
triad (4, 5, and 6), to the tetrad (7, 8, 9, and
10), the pentagram (11, 12, 13, 14, and 15),
and the six-pointed star (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and
21) and returning to unity or zero (0).
It is doubtful whether any of these arrange­
ments add significantly to the message contained
in each individual card; perhaps because distor­
tions and deviations have already heavily altered
the content. There is no agreed upon sequence
and each person has to make his own. Like a
multilayered spiral, one can enter the series at
any point and proceed upward or downward or
Tree of Life. sideways, as the need dictates, trying to follow
the inner guide who knows the way and knows
how to read the signs on the way. What follows
here is in no way the “true” interpretation of the
cards; they are merely my own subjective re­
sponses and associations, inevitably limited by
my level of understanding.
 Tarot [ 61 ]

are ego and Higher Self, Arjuna and Krishna, the

The major arcana childlike dreamer and the God within. William
Blake said: “If the fool would persist ‘in his
The so-called zero card, the Fool, is placed folly, he would become wise”;17 because he
at the beginning of some decks, at the end of would learn eventually, and awaken to the fact
others, or assigned a free floating place, not un­ that there is a purpose to his life, and his aim
like the joker in our playing decks. In many must be to discover that purpose and fulfill it. He
games the joker is a card that can assume any then reaches the stage where he knows he must
value; in games of chance he is supreme, he is find something, but he does not know what.
“lucky.” But in the Tarot path he has no place, He becomes the Nameless One of the Aquarian
no number, and is not on the path. He is usually Tarot. Here he is shown naked, leaving a dark
depicted as a carefree young man, wearing a hole with bones behind. He has emerged from
richly embroidered tunic; with his face up in the the precipice, given up his gaudy clothes, and
air, he is about to step off the edge of a precipice. is proceeding along, reading a scroll which he is
He is caught in dreams and images, self-created carrying. He is studying ancient maps of con­
fantasies preventing him from seeing the world sciousness, just as you are, dear reader. Over his
as it actually is, which may plunge him to his head hangs a spider: he has become aware of
death. Note that he has not yet fallen off the the web of thoughts and images, which we
precipice; but he may very well unless he wakes
up. He carries over his shoulder a staff with a
bag; some say the bag contains the tools of the
magician, the suits of the Tarot, which he does
not use. He is not actualizing his potentials, and
he is blind to the positive as well as the negative
possibilities confronting him. In some decks he
is called le mat, the materialist, and indeed his
sumptuous clothes indicate great interest in
externals. Surface beauty attracts him, though
he is asleep to what he does not want to see. His
dog, a faithful creature (symbolizing his creature
body), is barking and trying to wake him up.
Some have tended to idealize the Fool, partly
because of the association with aleph, the potent
first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. He has
been called the “mystic fool,” the “fire of mind.”
P. F. Case says, speaking as the Fool, “For
what thou callest ignorance and folly is my pure
knowing, imperfectly expressed through an un­
completed image of my divine perfection.”16
His is the folly of innocence and naivete, not
that of knavery and stupidity. Pie seems to have
something of the protection that court jesters
enjoyed; the sun is shining brightly on his path,
and he has not yet stepped off the precipice;
he can still make it. “Youthful folly has success,”
says the I Ching.
The Fool as the unawakened man may be
compared with the Magician as the initiate: they
 Tarot [ 63 ]

spin and in which we live, and he is determined tion of the impartial observer. In one hand he
to find his way out, to resolve his tangled fate. holds a flower, from the other flows running
For this reason he is also called “the resolver.” water. In his flowing mutability he evokes the
He has made a beginning, perhaps it was a rude myth of Proteus, the prophetic sea god, who lived
awakening, but he is on the path. “By asking the among the seals by the shore, and who would
question ‘Whom am I?’ he commences the evade questioners by changing in rapid succession
journey ... into lion, serpent, panther, bear, running water,
The Magician, as already indicated, is the leafy tree. If one could hold him fast, one could
knowing, Higher Self, and has attained that state get him to prophesy. We might translate this,
that is as yet only potential in the Fool. As the if one can maintain steady awareness through
Magician he has come into his own: he is able the shifting flux of images, then the Immortal Self
to move his consciousness to higher or lower will vouchsafe revelation. In the alchemical sym­
levels, he can use the tools of psychic transform­ bolism, the Magician-Changer is related to mer­
ation. He is at home equally in the inner universe cury, the “philosophic substance,” the elusive
and in the outer world of the earth. The former essence that enters into all forms, but, like
is indicated by the infinity symbol, oo, over his quicksilver, cannot be grasped by the mind.
head; the latter by the luxuriant flowers and The High Priestess, the Empress, the Hiero­
plants growing round him. Exoterieally, he is phant, and the Emperor form a tetrad of mascu­
the juggler, the name of this card in some decks, line and feminine figures representing spiritual
who performs sleights of hand and tricks of and worldly orientations. To the modern con-
magic; but his true nature is much greater. He
is reminiscent of Amogha-Siddhi, the Tibetan
Dhyani Buddha of the All-Accomplishing Wis­
dom, who brings the diamond fire of higher
wisdom into the outer world of action, and who,
like the Magician, carries a double sceptre
(vajra), signifying the double direction of aware­
ness. Ouspensky says of this card: “I saw that he
was changing all the time. Innumerable crowds
seemed to pass and pass in him before me ... at
the same time I saw myself in him, reflected as in
a mirror, and it seemed to me that I was looking
at myself through his eyes.” 10 He is the “shape-
shifter,” the “mirror of form,” who reflects but
does not identify with the “innumerable crowds”
of false self-images that dominate our normal
consciousness, which, to the God-Magician
within, are fleeting and insubstantial. He has the
mobility of consciousness enabling him to enter
into and withdraw from these images at will so
he does not get caught in them. In Actualism,
this mobility is referred to as “standing firmly on
a moving point.”
Appropriately, in the Aquarian Tarot, the
transmuted Magician, now called the Changer, is
standing upon a rolling sphere. His arms are
stretched out from his sides, as if to indicate he is
balancing on the neutral point, the flexible posi­
sciousness, the ecclesiastic associations evoked Isis she is man’s mediator with the hidden truth
by the High Priestess and the Hierophant are which she conceals from the uninitiated. As
no longer relevant; rather we would see them Mother, akin to the Hindu Sakti, she is creative
as representing the inner search and growth in energy, inwardly absorbed in the process of
consciousness. Similarly, the Empress and Em­ generation.
peror, instead of worldly authority figures, be­ The Empress is wearing a flowery robe and
come symbols of external reality activity and a star-studded diadem, seated on a throne among
attitude. corn fields, waterfalls, and blossoming trees.
The High Priestess is usually shown as a Where Isis is the Cosmic Mother, associated with
robed figure seated between two columns in the moon and with divine secrets, this is De­
front of a veiled entrance. She holds a book and meter, the Earth Mother, symbolizing the nour­
the crescent moon is at her feet; a cross of light ishing fruitfulness and thousand delights of
hangs on her breast. She was called Isis, the earth. She is all-loving, radiant, universal female­
Guardian of the Mysteries, the Spiritual Bride, ness. In the Aquarian deck she becomes the
the Cosmic Mother; she was also identified with Feeler, who stands with anus stretched out to
Sophia, the Divine Wisdom. In the Aquarian embrace, her golden hair encircling naked
Tarot she is called simply Mother and the veils breasts. She is called “prime mover,” and it is
of Isis, the images that veil the truth from our indeed emotions that stimulate us to movement
understanding, have been removed: she stands and activity. The Sign of Cancer, a watery, emo­
pregnant, with open robe, but eyes closed, on the tional, maternal sign, is over her head linking her
pillars instead of between them. The cross of back again to the moon goddess, sea mother.
light on her breast has become a blazing star. As The Hierophant, literally “he who shows sacred
 things,” is the male counterpart of the High
Priestess; sometimes he is called the Pope. In
some decks these two are known as Jupiter and
Juno, the Olympian Father and Mother. His as­
sociation with ecclesiastic authority has led to
an obscuring of his true nature. He is expressive
while the Priestess is conservative; he reveals
and teaches, she preserves and contains. In the
Aquarian deck he is shown as the Speaker. From
his mouth shoot forth birds (winged thoughts)
and lightning bolts (inspiring sparks of energy);
volcanoes erupt, the land shakes, waters spout.
The words of power which he speaks are dis­
lodging structures, bringing forth fire from earth-
form, activating emotional torrents. His heart is
blazing with light, like that of the Mother; like
her, he is naked, unadorned.
The Emperor is armored, sitting on a throne
or cube decorated with rams’ heads (symbols of
the Arian Age that preceded the Piscean?). He
is the executive ego acting in the external world.
Formerly seated on a throne, a “seat of power,”
[ 66 ] Maps of Consciousness

his contemporary descendant is the chairman. His down, tied by his right foot to the top of a T-
armor is indicative of his defensiveness, the usual shaped tree cross. His left leg is folded behind
feature of this type. Reich would call him “the his right, his hands are tied behind his back, he
armored individual.” In the Aquarian deck, he has a halo. He is a being of light, but he is in­
still has defenses, but he takes them on or off verted, bound. He reminds us of Prometheus,
at will: he becomes the Actor, the mind that who was chained to a rock as a punishment for
performs acts. He is depicted holding a mask in stealing fire from the gods and giving it to man­
front of his face. He has quit his throne, his kind. So we have a divine being, an immortal,
seat of authority, he is less concerned with main­ imprisoned in matter, bound to the cross of
taining or defending power. He is now on a reality. But was it punishment? Or is that a
stage, consciously participating in the tragedies fable, invented by guilt-plagued men? For
and comedies of life. He knows that his person­ Prometheus is the divine creator of man, he
ality is but his persona, his mask used for relating does not suffer, he cannot be punished. In
externally (per-sonare, “for sounding”). Actualism, it is taught that we suffer pain only
One of the most mysterious and intriguing if we identify with the body, the creation, in­
cards of the Tarot is the one known as the stead of with the divine creator within (Pro­
Hanged Man. It shows a man hanging upside metheus ). He is the bringer of light, the teacher-
 Tarot [ 67 ]

knower. In the myth, Prometheus is released from of fate and he can redeem his birthright, which
the rock when an immortal voluntarily surrenders he (as ego) has sold “for a mess of pottage.”
his immortality; that is, when the bound man Hence Christ, who also was hung up on a cross,
recognizes and remembers that as Immortal Self is called the Redeemer. And in the new Tarot,
he voluntarily created and entered “this mortal the significance of the Hanging Man is said to
frame,” he will be free (again). be “redemption.” This Hanging Man stands
Thus the Hanged Man is truly “hung up” in his spread out with his feet on two separate build­
karma. But it is not his fault (or anybody’s ings, with a man and a woman hanging from
fault), he is not being punished. Karma, from his wrists, the woman upside down. Tears are
the Sanskrit root kr, “to do.” simply refers to the streaming down his face with grief at the separa­
consequences of actions. As long as he is identi­ tion of the male and female aspects of his own
fied with his mortal ego he is bound to the task of nature. When he unifies them, he will be
paying off old debts and “unravelling the web redeemed; and then he will be free to engage
of fate.” But as Immortal Higher Self he can in creative activity, instead of having his hands
“do” without being involved and getting caught, tied.
which is the meaning of Karma Yoga. And also The Chariot card is usually related to con­
as Higher Self he can undo the tangled knots quest and defense, yet most commentators have
felt that the conquest involved was not actual, independent from the other. A good allegory of
or only partial. It shows a princely figure in a our usual condition.
chariot in front of which sit a black and white In the card of the Victorious One, the Aquarian
sphinx. It seems to have generally escaped Tarot’s version of this image, the self has over­
notice that the sphinxes are not in a shaft or come this disorganization. The chariot, which
harness, nor does the driver have reins. Follow­ now has both harness and reins is in the back­
ing an ancient Eastern allegory we can see the ground; the man is walking with right foot
driver as the mind, the sphinx-lions as the sandaled, earth-grounded, and left foot winged,
emotions (positive and negative), and the chariot ready to flv. He is leading the black and white
as tire body. Gurdjieff pointed out that to achieve lions by a leash. A brilliant sun over his head
unity, not only must the different parts of this guides him, and an eagle protects him. Birds are
complex organization be brought into harmony, holding up a transparent veil, behind which
and under the direction of the “master,” the “I”; wolves are snarling and fighting. That is, though
but the connections also must function well. The the conflict of passions and instincts continues,
driver (mind) must hear and understand the it no longer affects him or deviates him from his
master (the I); he must learn to guide the lions path; he is not in it. One can sometimes see one’s
(feelings) with reins; the lions must be properly own psychic components with this kind of trans­
harnessed to the carriage (related to the body).20 lucent detachment under psychedelic chemicals.
In this card, the connections are absent; each The Actualist interpretation of the Chariot
center or level of consciousness, though ap­ card brings out yet another perspective: here,
parently they are together, is in fact separate and the princely figure represents Actual Self, the
Immortal One within all that is external. The and his creature-instinctive nature is shown
chariot represents the exterior form aspects in the Strength card: a woman, with an infinity
within and from which the Actual Self observes, symbol over her head, is allegedly either closing
without reservation or restraint or involvement. or opening the mouth of a big lion. My guess is
The absence of reins or harness indicates free that this is an error, and that the “Strength is
will is given to the personality self, to choose the higher nature in its liberation,” as Waite,
between inner or outer orientation. The leonine who has her leading the lion with a chain of
bodies of the two sphinxes represent the animal- flowers, points out.21 She is the female counter­
creature body of the human; the human heads part of the Magician, as the infinity symbol over
represent the human structures and functions her head indicates, and her strength is feminine-
with consciousness centered in the forebrain. The magnetic, the power of love and understanding.
black sphinx is the mysterious, magnetic, female In the Aquarian Tarot, Strength becomes the
aspect of the nature; the white is the known, Deliverer: lion and woman have become very
dynamic, male aspect. The sphinxes are reclin­ close, he stands tamed behind her, in front of
ing: the personality self, comprised of human them is a vat of fire. It was said of this: “She is
and animal natures, is immobilized with respect not the Deliverer—nor is he. The flame is.” 22 But
to the inner worlds, it is unawakened. However, this fire is not the fire of earth—it is electric fire.
the open eyes indicate that its orientation is out­ It is the inner fire in its consuming aspect, purify­
ward, toward the external world of material ing and eliminating unnecessary debris, as taught
realities. in Agni Yoga.
Another kind of relationship between man Fire as purification, with the purpose and goal
[ 70 ] Maps of Consciousness

of liberation from obstructions and psychic

wholeness, is purgatory; fire which merely burns,
unwanted and without promise of end, is hell. In
the former case we have destructuring, for the
purpose of change and the creation of new form,
for trans-formation; in the latter we have sense­
less destruction seeking only to exercise and
increase its own power. This is the realm of the
Devil. In Goethe’s Faust, Mephisto introduces
himself as "the spirit who always negates.” Pure
negation, “just for the hell of it.” In the Tarot,
he is shown in the classic medieval manner, as
bearded, horned goat-demon with bat’s wings,
the planetary symbol of Mercury on his hairy
navel, an inverted torch in his left hand. Two
human figures, male and female, are chained
to the “altar” on which the Dark One squats.
Typical is Waite’s interpretation: "Hereof is the
chain and fatality of the material life.” They are
 Tarot [ 71 ]

analogous to the two figures in the Lovers card, —a factor that divides people within and thus
where they are presided over by an angelic keeps them from truly uniting with each other.
figure. Love is apparently either paradisal or in­ And yet, though his lies and false concepts actu­
fernal, sacred or profane. In some older versions ally block and negate the free flow of generative
of the Lovers card, this good-bad polarization energy with mechanisms of shame, guilt, vanity,
of love was even more graphically shown: a fear, he has acquired the reputation of “suggest­
man had to choose between a naked, sensuous ing it,” of “tempting” one, of leading one astray
woman, and a clothed, chaste one. Cupid was into the ways of the flesh—in short, of being “a
flitting blindly overhead, up to his usual tricks. sexy devil.” A downright falsehood of course,
The Devil, whose Greek name diaholos means since actually the devil negates sex just as he
“the slanderer,” performed one of his most cun­ negates everything else. The “horny goat” is a
ningly deceitful tricks in getting himself associ­ devil’s mask; for as Blake put it, “the lust of the
ated with sex. Generations of Christians have goat is the bounty of God.” 23 The Devil’s effect
suffered both external and internal torments over is separative, divisive, and binding; the Lovers
so-called sins of the flesh, over the powerful are bound, but to him, not to each other.
impulses of generation. By separating the body’s But who is the Devil? He is the slanderer, the
instinct toward unification into numerous double­ liar, the false images and concepts we have in­
concepts of lust and love, carnal and spiritual, vented that would deny our divinity. In the
dirty and proper, he has made it into its opposite Aquarian Tarot, this card is named the Thinker,
and shows a cross-legged figure with a chain
around his head; a heart is hanging from one
end of the chain, a male-female pair is pulling
on the other end. “The man and woman bind his
thoughts to thoughts about duality, passion and
sensuality. The bleeding heart weights these
thoughts by thoughts about compassion. The
Thinker is not passionate, nor compassionate.” 24
He is in error.
The solution to the conflict is shown in the
Aquarian Tarot’s version of the Lovers card,
now called Unity. On it, there is a circle with
two winged fish swimming-flying in ocean-air
inside: the Piscean image of the union of male
and female within, the alchemists’ conjunctio
oppositorum. Around the outside of the circle
are a naked man and woman, not touching but
not apart, facing in the same direction. That is,
unity between two individuals must be based on
and proceed from unity within. Then they will
no longer be opposed to each other in the con­
stant seesaw of attraction-repulsion. They share
the same goal, and “by this understanding of
alignment, there exists only constant merging
and emerging.” 25
The Hermit is a cloaked, hooded man with a
staff, carrying a lamp. His eyes are closed, as if in
UN TTY meditation. He is the solitary seeker, absorbed
in the search for the Self. He guards his light,
[ 72 ] Maps of Consciousness

but he keeps it outside, as if his goal could be smaller ones surrounding it, is: “Thinkest thou,
found in the external world. A well-known Sufi O seeker for wisdom, that thou bringest thyself
story refers to this situation: Nasrudin, the great in the Light by thine own search? Not so. I am
teacher, was found by one of his disciples one the hook, cast into the rivers of darkness, to
night looking for something under a street lamp. bring men from their depths into the sphere of
“What are you looking for?” asked the student. true perception. . . . Men think they seek me,
“My purse,” said Nasrudin. “Did you lose it but it is I who seek them.” 20 We think we are
here?” asked the student. “No,” said Nasrudin, saving the soul by seeking the light; actually,
“but where I lost it, I cannot see; so I'm looking the light of the soul radiates starlike and lifts
here, where it’s light.” The corresponding figure us out of the depths. In this card, a young,
in the Aquarian deck, the Seeker, is shown naked girl is pouring water from two pitchers
naked with a blindfold, reaching out. A huge onto the earth and the water. If we are receptive
fire is blazing on top of the mountain toward with innocent purity, the blessings of the light
which he is groping his way. As Goethe said: of the stars pour abundantly into earth-body
“The most difficult thing of all is to see what and emotional waters. This is the card of Aqua­
lies before your eyes.” rius, the water bearer, showering stars upon the
The Cabalistic meditation on the Star card, earth. The mind receptive to illumination goes
which pictures a large blazing star and seven on to become an illuminator for men. “But they
 Tarot [ 73 ]

must have the light before they can reveal the

light.”27 In the Aquarian deck a man looks
down from the heavens, double rays of light
shine from his eyes, a star is behind his head;
there is a glittering city, a waterfall, a rainbow,
an inverted cup from which many hued streams
are flowing down. They are all aspects of the in­
ner work of transformation-illumination. He is
called the Way-Shower. A cock crows, announc­
ing the dawn of the new age, and the arrival of
the Light. “That which is above is showering
down, golden, upon that which is below; and
the way is being shown.” 28 One might say this
is a breakthrough.
A powerful winged androgynous being holds
two pitchers and pours water from one to the
other in such a way that the flow is simultane­
ously from left to right and vice versa: Tem-
[ 74 ] Maps of Consciousness

perance. This word is used here not in the sense with the awareness of the Magician tuned to
it has in temperance societies, but in the original both higher and lower levels, and a finely tem­
meaning of the Latin temperate, “to mix prop­ pered instrument which channels and transmutes
erly,” as in tempered steel and well-tempered cosmic energies, we can liberate ourselves from
clavichord. By the judicious mixing of right-hand the Wheel and fulfill our function as gods.
and left-hand, dynamic-male and magnetic- The Sun and the Moon cards form an anti­
female energies one produces “temperament” thetical pair comparable to the Magician and
that is resilient and harmonious. A bad “temper” the Fool. The Moon, it is interesting to note, is
is simply the inharmonious blending of what the only card in the Tarot, besides the Wheel of
alchemist-psychologists called the humors, the Life, that does not have a human or humanoid
emotional fluids. In some versions of the figure on it. There is a path winding through a
Temperance card the cosmic androgyne is tem­ gate into the distance. The moon is above. A
pering the elements of personality with slightly dog and a wolf are looking up at it, as if mag­
different emphasis: water pours down on the netized. An amphibious shell-fish creature is
right, fire on the left; a lion is on tire right, an climbing out of the water on to the land in the
eagle on the left. The water of feeling and tire foreground. In Greek mythology Selene, the
fire of perception is being blended with the Moon, was the offspring of Earth and Sun. This
creature body and the bird of thought. In the is not unlike one modern theory of the moon’s
Aquarian deck’s corresponding Reverser, the origin as a torn-off fragment of earth. Is the
nretasexual consciousness being with a blazing moon’s magnetism, its “sucking” of the fluids on
sun over his head is similarly engaged in bring­ the earth’s surface and in the biosphere, like
ing water down on his right side and ground­ the nourishing of a child by its mother? Some
ing fire through his left. He is able to “correctly esoteric doctrines assert it is: “Organic life on
channel flow.” He is the offspring of the Unity, earth feeds the moon,” according to Gurdjieff.29
the “son who has become his own father and In Greek myth, Selene was said to be beloved
mother, and who is also the Sun.” Like the tan- by Pan, the world of nature. The dog, the wolf,
tric Siva Ardhanarisvara, he is horizontally bal­ and the amphibian, the instinctual nature within
ancing sexual polarity, and vertically integrating us, are drawn to the moon. The path through
with respect to his several bodies. Astrologically, the gate of consciousness lies ahead, but they
he is the centaur-archer Sagittarius, who unites are not on it.
man and creature within himself and aims at the The moon as a symbol represents our evolu­
perfect center. tionary tail, the mammalian, amphibian, and
This is another aspect of the connecting done cellular imprints in our consciousness. This is
by the Victorious One and his Chariot. And it is why the moon is sometimes erroneously said to
also the bringing down of energy done by the be “the unconscious”; it is below our usual range
Star who is the Way-Shower. Man as a cosmic of awareness, but it is not at all unconscious, as
being acts like a “step-down transformer,” who is evidenced by the fact that one can experience
brings higher frequency energy to lower fre­ those levels, with psychedelic substances for in­
quency systems in order to enlighten them and stance, and by the fact that we still have feelings
lift them up. This activity is anti-entropic, re­ triggered by those imprints. We “react” to
generative; it counteracts the running down of lunar forces. The Aquarian version is called the
energies, the degeneration which occurs in Reader, who is “not the Actor.” In this card a
closed systems. The great planetary closed sys­ naked babe with two keys is coming through
tem of reciprocal feeding known to the ancients seven gates; behind in the distance is the moon.
as the Wheel of Life keeps us chained to the al­ He is moving away from the moon, he has
ternating ebb-and-flow of its changing seasons opened the gates of awareness with the keys of
and fortunes. But if we become an open system love and understanding. In ancient times the
ljlQ/ o'1 N
Cl a
1 ° D

THE MOON
way of liberation was often called “escape from and endless vistas. With one hand he holds a
the power of the moon.” meek, black horse by a loose tie; on his other
The Sun card shows a wall with a garden of side a white horse is rearing up high, standing
sunflowers behind it. The benign face of the sun on a skull. Death is overcome, darkness is tamed.
radiates life-warmth above. Two small children The child holds a book, open to the viewer.
are playing in front, or sometimes a small child “Each reader of the book sees his needed sign.”
with a banner is shown on a horse. Speaking of The card is the Doer of “right activity.” “There
the child, Waite says: “When the self-knowing is only one thing to do: be as you are, ... be it
spirit has dawned in the consciousness above the openly, and let the sun shine.” 32 And, it should
natural mind, that mind in its renewal leads be noted that the Sun is not the sun in the sky,
forth the animal nature.” 30 The children have but the eye of lighted consciousness. Thus it was
walked through the wall which enclosed the said in the uncanonical gospels: “If thine 1’ be
garden of “tire sensitive life.” Having dropped single, thy whole body will be full of light.”
their defensive armoring and “become like little It is worth relating that two of the individuals
children,” they can pass through the barriers to who were the medium for bringing through the
enter the kingdom within. For “the kingdom is Aquarian Tarot once gave me a reading. The
within you and it is without you.” 31 And the sun card which came up as the significator, the basic
shines equally on all and knows no distinctions. current trend of probability, was the Doer. This
The Aquarian version shows a seven-year-old was a helpful, inspiring clue and guide for inner
child standing in a sun-filled garden of flowers development. But the reading also included a
 Tarot [ 77 ]

definite prediction that I would be writing. Now

this was over a year ago, when I had no thoughts
of a book of this nature. So here was a rather
literal, explicit indication even of the kind of
writing (though I did not see this at the time): I
am holding up a book, a set of ancient books, for
you, friend reader. “Each reader of the book
sees his needed sign.”
The Judgement card shows the archangel
Gabriel raising the dead from their graves: with
upstretched arms they joyously ascend. The idea
of the Last Judgement in Christian mythology
has usually been associated with notions of sepa­
ration (of the good from the bad) and of punish­
ment. “Dies irae, dies ilia”—that dreadful day of
final accounting. But again we must recognize
this as a distortion. For it is in the ordinary state
of fixed-pattern responding according to condi­
tioning factors that we are constantly judging
our experiences: this is a bad or good thought,
this feeling is right or wrong, this sensation is
nasty or nice, etc. As we judge ourselves, so we
judge others—and distort the meanings and val­
ues of our experiences and others’ actions. The
day when we are finally able to give up this
judgementalizing tendency completely will be
the day of the last judgement—and it will be a
joyous day indeed, for it will signal the realiza­
tion of the True Self; and those aspects of our
nature that we have rejected and locked away
will arise from their graves, reborn, to join at last
in the feast of the gods with love and joy.

Modern methods using imagery

There is in exoteric psychological practice a

number of methods which also use images, and
it may be useful to briefly explore the simi­
larities and differences between these methods
and the Tarot. The well-known ink-blot test,
beloved of court-room and TV psychologists,
was developed by Herman Rohrschach on
the basis of the Freudian theory of projection.
An ink-blot pattern is shown to the patient or
client and from his responses inferences are
made to his “unconscious” impulses and fears.
Thus if he sees a phallus in the ink blot, a strong
sex drive is inferred; if he sees blood and gore,
[ 78 ] Maps of Consciousness

destructive urges and hidden rage may be seedl­ “need for achievement.” Or the story may be
ing below the surface. The notion of "fantasy- about how the boy is worried about his lesson
substitution'’ is prevalent in this school of clini­ (“fear of failure”), or how he is mad at his
cal psychology: an individual will fantasize mother for making him practice (“need for in­
doing something if his fears or outside forces dependence”). Most of the drawings commonly
prevent him from doing it. And experiments used have typical family figures in characteristic
have been done which indeed show that if, for family situations; they are used to determine
example, an individual is prevented from mov­ patterns of family relationships as they appear
ing physically, the number of “M” responses, to the client. The more cosmic and mvsterious
that is responses showing human figures in cards are related to the kinds of images Jung
movement on the Rohrschach, will increase; and said came from the “collective unconscious.”
conversely, after vigorous callisthenics, “M” re­ A similar principle is used in the techniques
sponses will be less. known as “guided daydream” or “psychosvn-
While these theories may be correct enough thesis” developed by Desoille in France, Leu-
on one level, though they are gross simplifica­ ner in Germany, Assagioli in Italy, and Gerard
tions, note the purpose: the psychologist is try­ in the United States. Here a series of images is
ing to probe, like a kind of psychic X ray, presented to the client verbally and he is asked
beneath the defenses of the patient. What the to elaborate, describe, fantasize, and develop
patient wants is beside the point, though it is al­ this image. For example, he may be asked to
ways supposed to help him somehow. With the visualize a house, to describe its outside, and
Tarot, there is no question of probing; rather, then its inside. Often, there is a remarkable cor­
it is taken for granted that the “inquirer” wishes respondence between the description the client
to see through his own defenses and understand gives of his house and the images he has of his
himself better. Therefore, instead of supposedly own personality. He may not be aware of the
neutral blots, into which he projects his mental similarity until it is pointed out to him. In a con­
contents, he is shown powerfully evocative im­ text of therapy, the client may be asked to enter
ages which can and sometimes do elicit strong the basement, or attic of his house, and there to
emotional reactions, positive as well as negative, open a trunk he has not opened before, or look
and by observing these the inquirer is able to at an old, dusty book. With this method, reveal­
increase his understanding of himself. The ing insights can often be gained by the client
“reader,” if there is one, may also get to know into some of the more obscure and disguised
the inquirer better, but this is secondary. The programs which are affecting his emotional
compilers of the Tarot knew that man has sex responses. Needless to say, such methods must
drives and destructive drives; they were in­ be handled with care, trust, and understanding.
terested in helping man increase his understand­ With these methods, we are not too far from
ing of these drives within him. So they have a the meditative, associative-synthetic approach of
naked couple, and a skeleton mower. And they the Tarot. In fact, there are some advantages to
ask: how well do you know that in you? the verbal presentation of an image over the
The so-called Thematic Apperception Test visual: it allows the client-seeker to produce an
(T.A.T.), developed by Henry Murray and his image more corresponding to his own inner
associates, is a good deal more sophisticated state. The main difference is that the Tarot, as it
than the Rohrschach. Here the subject is shown has come down to us, has built into it certain
a series of drawings and is asked to tell a story ideas and conceptions of what a human being
about each of the drawings. Thus there is a pic­ is; and what man’s function in the cosmos is;
ture of a little boy looking at a violin on a table and what possibilities for development are open
in front of him. The story may be about how the to man; and how these possibilities may be
bov hopes to become a great violinist; this realized.
would be scored for “level of aspiration” or The symbols and images used in the method
 Tarot [ 79 ]

of the “guided fantasy,” as well as those of the ognition could come. Gradually, over a period
Tarot, are thought of as being archetypal. Ac­ of time, the image began to work itself into
cording to Jung, these are part of the common deeper layers of consciousness, as it were. I
psychic structure of mankind, much as hands might begin to dream about it or suddenly think
and feet are common physical structure. But it of it in other contexts. It might work subtle
is important to realize that the images and ideas transformation on prerational, highly charged
themselves, though derived from, are not arche­ complexes of ideas and emotions, changing them
types: they are imitations. As Jung put it: from anxious fixations, to enlarging, life-affirm­
“Archetypes are not determined as regards then- ing visions.
content, but only as regards their form. ... Its Perhaps even more dramatic results can be
form . . . might be compared to the axial system obtained if you “work” in this manner with a
of a crystal, which as it were, preforms the crys­ card to which the initial reaction is strongly neg­
talline structure in the mother liquid, although it ative. Trying to determine the nature of the re­
has no material existence of its own. This first sistance, you can learn much: if not the origin
appears according to the specific way in which of the conflict, at least some knowledge of the
the ions and molecules aggregate. The arche­ subtleties of your defenses. After a while, you
type in itself is empty and purely formal ... a may then be drawn to another card, which
possibility of representation.” 33 might represent the next stage. It is important
Thus the various images of a path that appear to let yourself take the cards in any order, to
in the Tarot, or are used in guided fantasy meth­ make “your own way.”
ods, or appear in dreams and visions, though It is valuable also to try to internalize the en­
directed toward evolutionary growth—are still ergy symbolism of the cards. For example, while
images and must eventually be eliminated. Im­ writing the portion of this chapter dealing with
ages of transformation, of “the way,” may be the Temperance card, I woke up one morning
helpful in finding the way, but having found it, with that image in my mind, and as I held it,
it is necessary to go on it; and then the image be­ there occurred a shift in awareness such that “I”
comes an obstacle. This is why it was said by a was no longer just the body-personality, but ex­
Zen Master: “If you meet the Buddha on the panded into the consciousness of the “field.”
road, kill him.” Because the Buddha you meet on You can make the experiment of standing and
the road is not the Buddha, but an image—going imaging yourself as the Reverser, with “watery
in the opposite direction. energy” flowing down from above into your up­
turned right hand; and “fiery energy” flowing
down from your left hand into the ground. Try
EXPERIENTIAL EXPERIMENTS
to perceive what this “water” and “fire” is, in­
It is good first to look at the various Tarot side, and what its effects are. Similarly you can
decks and find one that appeals the most, or re­ he the Changer and think of yourself standing
lates to something experienced. Then lay out the firmly on a rolling sphere, to get that feeling in
various cards of the major trumps and simply the body.
look at them, if possible without preconceptions. Also, the images can be used as starting points
Pick out one that evokes the strongest positive for exploratory fantasy trips. For example, you
reaction, and put that one up on the wall, in a can visualize yourself as the Fool, and then com­
place where it will be seen often in the course plete the fantasy: what happens? Does he fall
of daily activities. off? If not, how so? If yes, then what happens?
I found that when looking at a card intently, And the Nameless One? What happens to him
expecting something to happen, nothing did; but in the desert? Following the images, and then
if, when I was thinking about something else, tracing the source of the images, one can learn
or absentmindedly going about business, I much.
would suddenly chance to see it a flash of rec­ Spreading the cards. Once you have obtained,
[ 80 ] Maps of Consciousness

by such methods, some feeling for the meaning the celtic method it is called “what is beneath
of the different cards, you can begin to use them him.”
to obtain readings. Like the I Clung, the cards of (5) is the key card, the integrating factor, that
the Tarot offer an independent perspective on a which is needed or indicated to bring these four
given situation or cusp of choice, a perspective
that allows higher intuition to come into play.
M.C.
Essentially, the reading is done for oneself; con­
sidering the unavoidable subjective biases, I see
little value in doing readings for another, or in
having another interpret one’s cards.
The following lay-out relates to the astrologi­
cal map of the 24-hour cycle and uses the basic H H desc
form of the cross. It also corresponds in part to
the “celtic method,” described in Waite’s book.
Only the twenty-two major arcana are used; after
shuffling while concentrating on the question, five
cards are laid out in the order shown.
(1) represents what is coming, what is becom­
ing stronger in influence, the developing trend I.C.
of the immediate future, the direction of growth.
It corresponds to the ascendant in astrology: the
sign or planet rising over the horizon (of aware­ tendencies or influences into balance: the pri­
ness), the morning-time. In the Celtic method it mary focus for understanding the situation.
is called “what is before him.” Each card represents an inner factor, or state
(2) represents what is passing, what is declin­ of consciousness, or quality. The four “principal
ing in influence, a waning factor of the recent actors’’—High Priestess, Hierophant, Emperor and
past, or something that ties us to the past. It Empress—can be taken to refer to dynamic and
corresponds to the descendant in astrology: the magnetic aspects of one’s own nature, as de­
sign or planet sinking below the horizon (of scribed above; or they may refer to external
awareness), the evening time. In the celtic males or females if the question or situation per­
method it is called “what is behind him.” tains to them.
(3) represents what is manifesting, what is It should be remembered that such a reading
now being openly expressed in relation to the is only one sample out of a constantly evolving
world and others. It corresponds to the zenith pattern of change. The cross rotates in a clock­
(or mid-heaven, M.C.) in astrology: what is cul­ wise direction; so that what is now on the ascen­
minating in the sky, the highest point, the noon­ dant will eventually culminate or be fully
time. In the celtic method it is called “what manifest; and what is now hidden below aware­
crowns him.” ness will emerge into the light of day. As with
(4) represents what is hidden, an unexpressed the 1 Citing, a given reading should always and
factor in the situation, latent yet active below only be taken to indicate the probability patterns
awareness, an unmanifest tendency. It corre­ as of the moment, always subject to change.
sponds to the nadir (or imurn coeli, I.C.) in There are of course no fixed interpretations.
astrology: the point opposite the zenith, on the The cards laid out can be pondered as indica­
nether side of the earth, the midnight-time. In tions, or hints—signposts on the way.
 Tarot [ 81 ]

6. A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (New

York: University Books, 1960; orig. publ., 1910), p. 40.
NOTES AND REFERENCES Waite’s book contains descriptive bibliography of the
earlier commentaries on the Tarot.
1. “A large number of experiments have been done 7. See, for example, P. D. Ouspensky, In Search of the
to show that the organism’s input channels and even the Miraculous (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1949),
sensory receptors themselves, are subject to efferent con­ p. 281.
trol by the central nervous system. A recent series of 8. Grillot de Givry, Witchcraft, Magic and Alchemy
studies performed in my laboratories demonstrated cor- (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), p. 282.
ticofugal influence as far peripherally as the cochlear 9. John Cooke and Rosalind Sharpe, The New Tarot.
nucleus and optic tract, originating in the so-called The Tarot for the Aquarian Age (Kentfield, Calif.:
association areas.” Karl H. Pribram, “The New Neurology Western Star Press, 1969). This version, originally pub­
and the Biology of Emotion,” American Psychologist lished only as large meditation posters, has now also
22, no. 10 (1967): 834. been published as a deck, with the miner arcana, and a
E. Lester Smith, writing in Science Group Journal 10, divination game, using the Royal Maze card as a game
no. 2 (London: March, 1966), referring to recent elec­ board.
tron microscope studies of retinal structure, says: “This 10. Levi, Aquarian Gospel, p. 55.
makes the retina look like a piece of peripheral brain, 11. Carl G. Jung, Aion: Researches into the Phenom­
and justifies regarding it as an extension of the brain on enology of the Self, vol. 9, II, Collected Works (New
the end of the optic nerve. It is now believed, accord­ York: Pantheon Books, Bollingen Series XX, 1959).
ingly, that the retina not only acts as an amplifier with 12. Ibid., p. 7.
a gain of about 10fl, but also processes the information 13. See, for example, Mayananda, The Tarot for
it receives before passing it on to the brain.” Today (London: Zeus Press, 1963).
2. Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand 14. Paul Foster Case, The Book of Tokens. Tarot
Faces is a superb compilation of these myths (Cleve­ Meditations (Los Angeles: Builders of the Adytum,
land: World Publishing Co., Meridian Books, 1956). 1968).
3. Carl Jung, Civilization in Transition, quoted in 15. Ouspensky, A New Model of the Universe, p. 205.
Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams and Reflections (New 16. Case, Book of Tokens, p. 9.
York: Random House, Vintage Books, 1961), p. 392. 17. William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.
4. Dr. Papus, The Tarot of the Bohemians, rev. ed. 18. Cooke and Sharpe, Aquarian Tarot, p. 11.
(London: Rider & Son, 1919), quoted in P. D. Ouspen- 19. Ouspensky, New Model of the Universe, p. 203.
sky, A New Model of the Universe (New York: Alfred 20. Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous, p. 91.
A. Knopf, 1943), p. 201. 21. Waite, Pictorial Key to the Tarot, p. 103.
5. Levi, The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, 22. Cooke and Sharpe, Aquarian Tarot, p. 93.
“Transcribed from the Akashic Records” (Los Angeles: 23. William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.
De Vorss & Co., 1969; orig. publ., 1907). The akashic 24. Cooke and Sharpe, Aquarian Tarot, p. 58.
record, known to the Buddhists as alaya vijnana, “store 25. Ibid., p. 39.
consciousness,” is, according to esoteric doctrine, the 26. Case, Book of Tokens, p. 161.
record of all words, deeds, and thoughts that can be 27. Levi, Aquarian Gospel, p. 39.
read by certain sensitives and psychics. Edgar Cayce, 28. Cooke and Sharpe, Aquarian Tarot, p. 50.
for example, supposedly read it to obtain medical diag­ 29. Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous, p. 85.
noses and cures for thousands of people. Whether or 30. Waite, Pictorial Key to the Tarot, p. 147.
not one chooses to believe the story of its origin, the 31. The Gospel According to Thomas, (Leiden: E. J.
Aquarian Gospel is a document of uncommon interest Brill, and London: Collins, 1959), p. 3.
and extraordinary beaut)-, which in highly plausible man­ 32. Cooke and Sharpe, Aquarian Tarot, p. 53.
ner describes Jesus’ years of searching in the Orient and 33. Carl Jung, The Archetypes and the Collective Un­
Egypt, as well as those portions of his life known from conscious, vol. 9, I, Collected Works (New York: Pan­
the other gospels. theon Books, Bollingen Series XX, 1959), pp. 79-80.
Title page from The Hermetic Museum. Note Athena and Hermes, at top left and
right respectively; the four elemental spirits at the sides; the Sun and Moon
at bottom left and right; and the Light of Nature leading the short-sighted
alchemists, bottom center.
ALCHEMY
The Chemistry of The history of alchemy is inti-

mately connected with the history of the so-

Inner Union called secret societies of the European Middle
Ages. The secrecy of these groups was in part a
political survival necessity. Their teachings,
which involved liberation from false concepts
Turn inward for your voyage! For all and preprogrammed designs, if openly declared,
would have aroused the opposition of the
your arts
established church. In part, also, the need for
You will not find the Stone in foreign secrecy is inherent in the nature of the work of
schools of inner transformation, as we have seen.
parts.
It is the secrecy of a technical language, not the
ANGELUS SILESIUS secrecy of an attempt to gain political or com­
mercial advantage, although this was precisely
the accusation leveled against them.
The secrecy factor makes it difficult to recon­
struct the history of these psychological schools
with any accuracy, especially since much of the
information about them derives from the defama­
tory distortions of the churchly opposition. It
seems reasonably certain though that through­
out the period when Europe was dominated by
the power of the church these schools of psycho­
logical transformation continued to arise. To
what extent there was an unbroken continuity
of tradition, reappearing in different guises, and
to what extent new teachings were formulated
in concepts derived from ancient, semimvthical
sources in order to facilitate their acceptance, is
difficult to say. The alchemists and other groups
tended to emphasize that their teaching was the
same as that taught by the “ancient sages”: the
first teacher was always Hermes Trismegistos,
an Egyptian initiate, whom Egyptians identified
with Thoth, the scribe of the gods, and the
[ 84 ] Maps of Consciousness

Greeks identified with Hermes, messenger of the among contemporary scientists is that though
gods. Numerous works of anonymous medieval their researchers had the merit of paving the
Latin alchemists were simply attributed to Her­ way for the development of modern chemistry,
mes. Other ancients, whom the alchemists cited yet they were regrettably steeped in the useless
as initiates in their tradition, include Solomon, and superstitious quest to make gold. This de­
Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, and Anaxagoras; spite the repeated and insistent statements of
and among medievalists, Avicenna, Albertus the alchemists that auriim nostrum non est du­
Magnus, Roger Bacon, Raymond Lully, and rum vulgum, “our gold is not the common gold”;
others. and that “our” mercury is not the common mer­
The pattern observable in this tradition is cury. Thus, the anonymous author of an al­
somewhat as follows: the initial school or col­ chemical tract entitled “An Open Entrance to
lege of adepts is established teaching the tech­ the Closed Palace of the King” says: “I have
niques of transformation and the associated spoken about mercury, sulphur, the vessel, the
knowledge of man’s psychophysiological consti­ treatment, etc.—and of course, all these things
tution. Around a nucleus of usually anonymous are to be understood with a grain of salt. You
teachers grows a community or brotherhood, must understand . . . that I have spoken meta­
which, in order to exemplify and externalize the phorically; if you take my words literally you
teachings and at the same time generate the ma­ will reap no harvest.” 2
terial resources to support itself, specializes in Here, and elsewhere, it is clearly stated that
one or another of the arts or sciences. Thus the the language of chemistry employed by the al­
Freemasons were originally a group of adepts chemists is a metaphor for the inner work, the
who were also master architects and builders, opus, of psychic transformation. The transmuta­
and who studied the laws of geometry and pro­ tion of “base metals” into “gold” is the transmu­
portion and the nature of materials in order to tation of psychophysical elements within man
build temples which would inspire and raise the from an impure, obstructed state to a fine state
consciousness even of those who knew nothing of responsiveness to high-frequency energy. The
of their purpose.1 precious metals were regarded as the most
Others, such as the Rosicrucians (the Brothers evolved members of the mineral kingdom; so,
of the Cross of the Rose) and the Brotherhood by analog)', to “make gold” by “our art” was to
of the Golden Cross, specialized in the natural make oneself into a more highly evolved mem­
sciences and studied the workings of God and ber of the human kingdom.
Nature in the cosmos (astrology) and in the And this was not an exclusive, separative en­
composition of matter (alchemy). Yet others in­ deavor: when the alchemists say “our gold,”
vestigated herbs and pharmacy and developed they do not mean ours as opposed to yours, but
new approaches to medicine and healing. The the gold that is within us, as opposed to the
seventeenth-century German alchemist Paracel­ gold of the goldsmiths. There is in the writings
sus, for example, was the first to develop the of the alchemists an intense, almost poignant
concept of chemical specificity, still one of ambivalence between their desire to share the
the cornerstones of modem therapeutics. The valuable knowledge and art they have learned
Knights Templar, which probably began as an and the knowledge that this sharing is possible
attempt by a group of adepts who were mem­ only to a very limited degree, because of the
bers of the military caste to convert the warriors possible danger both to the art and to the indi­
to a spiritual orientation, channeled their ex­ vidual, if premature information came into the
ternal activities into commerce and cultural ex­ wrong hands. “For the matter is so glorious and
change, and were responsible for bringing much wonderful that it cannot be fully delivered to any
material and scientific wealth to the West from one but by word of mouth.” 3
the Arabic and Greek worlds. The genuine alchemical adepts were aware
The commonly accepted view of alchemy of course that their teachings were being dis­
 Alchemy [ 85 ]

torted and abused by charlatans who claimed to had no external teacher or companion explorers
be able to make physical gold, and who preyed with whom to verify his experiences, and he
on the concupiscence of the ignorant. They de­ found himself in an extremely isolated position
nounced the “buffers and puffers” who said they without such external confirmation. For this rea­
could “multiply metals”; and pointed out, quite son, Jung regarded his work in alchemy as that
logically, that if these imposters really were able which gave his psychology “its place in reality
to make gold, they wouldn’t be wandering and established [it] upon its historical founda­
around boasting of it, and “cheating the credu­ tions.” 5
lous out of their money.” Yet their protestations Jung made pioneering advances in recogniz­
were in vain, and the low reputation, which al­ ing the importance of the alchemical tradition
chemy acquired as the result of the activities of and its continued relevance to modern man’s
fraudulent imitators, has prevailed to this day. quest for self-understanding and individuation,
Although modern scientists accuse the alche­ yet he was not able to step outside the role of
mists of trying to make money, and believe that the scholar. “I worked along philological lines,
by pursuing science for its own sake they have as if I were trying to solve the riddle of an un­
arrived at more exact and comprehensive knowl­ known language.”(1 The actual experimental
edge, this is actually a quite false and idealized practice of the art of alchemy eluded him, be­
picture. The majority of modern scientists work cause, as they themselves repeatedly said, this
for industry and government, for money; the de­ could only be taught by word of mouth, by a
termination of the goal or purpose of the scien­ teacher. In this way, despite his sincere and per­
tific experimentation is often left to politicians severing efforts in the realm of scholarship, Jung
and businessmen. Consequently, the researches fell victim to the inherent trap of the intellectual
of modern chemists and physicists, originally approach: that of assuming that mental knowl­
started by alchemists as an aid to man’s own edge is tine understanding. Hence he accuses
evolution, have become quite separated from the alchemists of “incredible naivete,” in pro­
this purpose. Using chemistry to make money, jecting their “fantasies” into matter; although
which is what the alchemists were accused of the contradiction between this and the great
trying to do, is what the modern chemists and psychological wisdom with which he credits
their patrons actually do. them, seems to escape him. A mere projection
In modern times the study of alchemy has re­ of fantasies into matter would not have lasted a
ceived a new infusion of interest due to the thousand years with such profound effects on all
work of Carl Jung. In his autobiography, Jung areas of European life and culture.
relates how during a period of several years in Jung’s blind spot regarding the role of the
the middle of his life, he was exposed to a "con­ body led him to miss the point that the trans­
frontation with the unconscious,” that is, images, mutation of substances took place within the
dreams, and fantasies which were both very psychophysical organism, even when the alche­
strange and very powerful rose up uncontroll­ mists say this explicitly. Thus, when Paracelsus
ably into his awareness. He had a dream in says, “The microcosm in its interior anatomy
which he felt that he was “caught in the seven­ must be reverberated up to the highest rever­
teenth century.” Soon he began to notice that beration,” Jung interprets this as, “While the
“analytical psychology coincided in a curious artifex heats the chemical substance in the fur­
way with alchemy.” 4 The dream symbols and nace he himself is morally undergoing the same
images he encountered had numerous parallels fiery torment and purification.” 7 Yet Paracelsus
in the alchemical literature. This discovery was is quite literally referring to an actual process of
extremely important to Jung because it indi­ raising the vibratory rate of structures in the
cated to him that the psychic experiences he was “interior anatomy” by means of “fire” (“rever­
undergoing were not purely personal-subjective, beration is ignition”). It is not just a “projection”
but had collective, historical antecedents. Jung of a “moral” purification, or becoming “uncon-
The evolution of awareness, in seven stages from the fixed plant stage to the
mobile human stage, through the transforming power of lightning-fire.

sciously identical” with a process going on in an analogues as supports for inner work. In the
external furnace, as Jung would have it. text entitled “The Sophie Hydrolith, or Water-
Perhaps this difference of interpretation can Stone of the Wise,” there is a passage which
best be made clear by relating a personal ex­ seems to refer to this procedure: “We saw that
perience. A short while after having begun to in our chemical operation the regulation of the
study the Yoga of Fire, which has many points fire, and a most patient and careful tempering
in common with the alchemical work, I inter­ of its heat, was of the greatest importance . . .
rupted a yoga session in order to brew myself a we also spoke of the ‘fire of the Sages’ as being
cup of tea. While waiting for the water to boil, one of the chief agents in our chemical process,
I sat down in the kitchen and continued to work and said that it was an essential, preternatural
with the “fire.” Shortly I became aware of the and Divine fire, that it lay hid in our substance,
sound of the water beginning to heat up. As I and that it was stirred into action by the in­
was attempting to increase the heat of the inner fluence and aid of the outward, material fire.” 8
fire, a linkage was spontaneously set up between Another author makes a careful distinction be­
the internal and the external heating. When the tween the “truly secret furnace, which a vulgar
water reached the boiling point, there was a eye never saw,” and the “common furnace,
definite discontinuous energy change internally, made of potter’s earth.” 0 One of the essential re­
experienced subjectively as a kind of release. In quirements of the latter was that “you must be
other words, the external heating provided a able to keep up in it a fire for ten or twelve
kind of support to the inner work, akin to the hours, without looking to it”; which suggests
role of mandala in visual meditation. There was that it was used as an external support to the
no projection of images, or identification going inner or “living fire” that bums in “our vessel.”
on here; I was fully aware of both processes and The alchemists were adepts first and natural
the difference between them. scientists second. That is, their goal and purpose
This experience suggested to me that where and main endeavor was evolutionary transfor­
the alchemists actually employed physical ap­ mation of man’s total being. Their methods were
paratus in their experiments, which was not taught by direct contact between teacher and
necessarily very often, they were perhaps work­ student. Yet they believed that since man is a
ing with this type of procedure. They might microcosm, the processes they observed and
have been setting up laboratory analogues of in­ studied internally could also be found extern­
ternal transformation processes, and using these ally, in Nature, and vice versa. “If, therefore, we
 Alchemy [ 87 ]

wish to exercise the fine Art of Alchemy, we was called “the chemical wedding,” the mar­
must imitate the method by which Nature does riage of chemicals within.
her work in the bowels of the earth.” 10 Alche­ The hermetic vessel, called by some “the root
mical texts are laboratory manuals for the great and the principle of our art,” that in which all
experiment of Nature, which we carry out in the operations of alchemy are performed, is the
our own nature: self-transformation. human body, or rather the whole organization
It is impossible at this date to determine to of bodies and fields considered under the aspect
what extent actual physical experimental setups of regenerative inner work. Jung writes: “The
were used by the alchemical adepts. Many were Hermetic vessel is a uterus of spiritual renewal
evidently distressed at and disapproving of an or rebirth”;13 and this is half the picture. For
increasing trend to use external materials. One the renewal is physical as well as spiritual. The
author, quoting Nature, writes: “Let me tell you vessel is said to be circular, or egg-shaped, cor­
that your artificial fire will never impart my responding to the shape of the organizing field
heavenly warmth.” 11 And continues later: “All seen by sensitives around human beings. The use
you want is leisure, and some place where you of the word vessel recalls early Christian mystics
can be without any fear of interruptions.” An­ who saw the body as the “vessel of the spirit,”
other author emphasizes: “There is but one ves­ in which the “second birth” of regeneration
sel, one method, and one consummation.” 12 Yet takes place. The alchemical “Liber Quartorum”
another implores: “Relinquish the multiplicity (“Book of the Four”) says, “like the work of
of methods and substances, for our substance is God is the vessel of the divine seed, for it has
one.” Clearly, the setting up of laboratory ana­ received the clay, moulded it, and mixed it with
logues as aids established a tendency for some fire and water.” 14 The rebirth of the new man,
of the alchemists to concern themselves more or second Adam, following the work of regene­
and more with the nature and composition of ration through fusion of male and female (some­
external elements and thus lose track of the times called the spagyric birth) brings forth the
original goal. This is essentially the birth of son of the wise, that is the actual, knowing Self,
modern chemistry, which, in the course of time, the hermaphroditic One, the unified being.
then proliferated into numberless specialized For the proper mixing of chemicals to take
subdisciplines. place the alchemists emphasized the importance
of keeping the vessel sealed. This so-called her­
The alchemists often referred to their method metic seal is like a protective field which the
as the “spagyric” art, a compound word made up adept establishes around himself, to prevent
from Greek roots meaning “to take apart” and “to “air” from coming in, that is, extraneous
bring together.” Thus it was a combination of thought-forms which could be destructive to the
what is today called analytic and synthetic process, as well as to prevent “air” from leaking
chemistry, in the interior sphere: the separation out, that is, to prevent mental energy from being
of elements, the extraction of gold from ore, on dissipated in outward projections. This latter as­
the one hand, and the synthesis of finer sub­ pect recalls Patanjali’s definition of yoga as “the
stances, the combining of elements, on the other. restriction of the fluctuations of mind-stuff.”
Analysis probes, goes into, takes apart: it is a
masculine, dynamic fuction. Synthesis contains, The four elements
combines, encloses: it is a feminine, magnetic
function. The fusion of male and female en­ Central to the thinking of the alchemical phi­
ergies, known as the conjunction, is the central losophers is the idea that macrocosmic Nature
process of alchemy. Many of the illustrations of and man, the microcosm, are made up of the
the work show a man on the right and a woman four elements: fire, air, water, and earth. This
on the left performing various operations in the notion is not at all far-fetched when it is remem­
vessel, in the center. They are preparing what bered that 99 percent of the atoms of proteins,
 Alchemy [ 89 ]

the chief ingredient of living matter, are con­ fire are less easily interpreted in terms of states
stituted of the elements carbon, oxygen, hydro­ of matter. Knowing what we do now about the
gen, and nitrogen. Perhaps this is one aspect of electromagnetic wave properties of matter, and
what the alchemists meant by the four elements. the interchangeability of the wave-energy aspect
Another aspect is what we nowadays call the and the particle-matter aspect, one could say
states of matter. Molecules bound into rela­ that electricity is a fourth state of matter, and
tively fixed, immobile structures are solid; identify it with the sensory-perceptual nervous
within the body, bones, muscles, cartilage, con­ system in the body, which functions electrically.
nective tissue, and cell structures are the “earth However, the alchemists either did not possess
elements” of our nature. The alchemists say: this information or did not write about it; they
“Elementary earth is like a sponge, and the re­ were concerned mostly with fire in its aspect of
ceptacle of all other elements.” 15 purifying energy.
With a rise in temperature the movement of “Would you know the perfect Master?” asks
molecules in a substance increases and matter “The Ordinal of Alchemy.” “It is he who under-
enters the liquid state; our organism is 70 per­ stands the regulation of the fire, and its de­
cent liquid, with its circulating blood and lymph grees.”18 The author goes on to describe thirteen
systems, hormones, and intracellular fluids. The different kinds of fire and when to use them.
alchemists refer to this fluid medium of life as Another text, entitled “The Glory of the World,”
the aqua permanens, the “permanent water,” or states that “without this fire our Art can
as mare nostrum, “our sea.” Through its connec­ not be brought to a successful issue. ... It
tion with the endocrine system, “water” is asso­ is the most precious fire that God has created
ciated with the emotional nature. The blood­ in the earth, and has a thousand virtues. ... It
stream, it has been said by Rodney Collin, is “an has the purifying virtue of Purgatory.”19 Yet
index of man’s being.” 10 others identify fire with spirit or soul. Although
The gaseous state of matter is marked by still sometimes the alchemists identify their “fire of
higher temperatures and degree of activity; the the Sages,” with the fire of hell or purgatory,
molecules are in ceaseless, random motion. The when describing its purifying aspects, yet mostly
alchemists said air “contains the vital spirit of all they emphasize that the art is to be carried out
creatures ... it nourishes, impregnates, con­ with “gentle cooking.”
serves the other elements.” 17 It is hardly neces­ Yet another aspect of the doctrine of the four
sary to point out that the consistent oxygenation elements is that this may be a metaphor for the
of the blood is a vital part of the continuing life subtle bodies which we encounter in all esoteric
process, and particularly of cerebral processes. philosophy. These bodies are held to differ in
Or, as the alchemists put it, “We see that water material density, or in frequency of vibration.
becomes foul and unwholesome without a sup­ The earth body, which is the one we perceive
ply of fresh air.” with our physical senses, is the densest, and has
The breath of life is the carrier of energy in the lowest frequency. “Water” then refers to the
the process of creation, as God breathed life into emotional body, also known as the astral body.
the form of Adam; it is also intimately involved This is a different level of consciousness which
in all systems of yogic regeneration, or re-crea­ links into but is not identical with the fluid com­
tion; and metaphorically, we find it in the “in­ ponents of the physical, earth body. Similarly,
spiration” of artistic creativity. The very words “air” refers then to the mental body, also known
spirit and psyche come from Greek and Latin as the causal body, the mental level of con­
words meaning “to breathe.” In most esoteric sciousness, which links into but is not identical
philosophy and in the symbolism of many with the brain systems.
dreams and fantasies, “air” is associated with the The work of alchemy consisted in integrating
thinking nature, the “wings of thought.” and transmuting these elements, these levels of
The statements of the alchemists concerning consciousness. They need to be integrated be-
[ 90 ] Maps of Consciousness

cause in the normal condition of man they are tillation of the spirit,” was described as thou­
in a state of conflict and confusion and are pro­ sandfold and as circular; reminiscent of the
grammed by low-level images and imprints. The “circulation of the light" of Chinese alchemy, and
alchemists referred to this initial state as “chaos,” of the “thousand petal lotus” of the Hindu and
or a “confused mass,” or nigredo, “blackness.” Tibetan Tantras.
It was essential to recognize this state of inner “Separation of elements” was another fre­
chaos, the constant warfare of what Gurdjieff quently employed and as frequently misunder­
called the “many Ts,” before the work of trans­ stood metaphor. Paracelsus wrote: “The impure
formation could begin. animate body must be purified through the sep­
“The elixir is composed by the reconciling and aration of the elements,” and he goes on, “which
mutual transmutation of the four elements,” says is done by your meditating on it.”24 In other
one alchemist.20 Another text explains: “When words, it is clearly specified that the separation
corruptible elements are united in a certain sub­ is in awareness. In the initial state of “confused
ject, their strife must sooner or later bring about mass,” we are not aware of several bodies; our
its decomposition ... if the pure elements are awareness gradually becomes more discriminat­
then once more joined together by the action of ing, and is able to separate the elements, that
natural heat, a much nobler and higher form of is, to distinguish the different levels of con­
life is produced.” 21 The integration of the bod­ sciousness.
ies or levels of consciousness was often de­ Some alchemists became very involved in de­
scribed by analogy with the chemical processes scribing the various inner changes that resulted
of “solution” and “coagulation”: the former turns from the work in chemical terms. As the image-
a solid into a liquid, the latter does the reverse. factors obstructing clear consciousness are
“The whole thing is done by a simple process of burned out by the inner fire, various processes
heating, which includes the solution and coagu­ analogous to “calcination,” “putrefaction,” “de­
lation of bodies,” writes the author of “The composition,” “sublimation,” etc., might indeed
Only True Way.”22 “Dissolve and coagulate” take place. Yet again some authors were dis­
became one of the oft-quoted maxims of the al­ mayed by this trend toward multiple terminol­
chemists. ogy, which they saw as a distraction from the
The integration of levels of consciousness was basic simplicity of the method. In “The Only
seen also as the spirit becoming body and the True Way,” it is said the “substance” needs no
body becoming spiritualized. In “The Glory of special treatment, “except that of digestion by
the World” is a fascinating passage which unites gentle heat. ... For while you heat, you also
many of these metaphors: “The gentle inward putrefy, or decompose . . . Again when you heat,
heat which changes it (the body) into water, you also sublime.” 25 And indeed, this author is
and yields two waters, viz., the distilled spirit, evidently quite correct in pointing out that the
and the dissolved body. These two waters are various chemical processes named are all the
again united by slow and gentle coction, the results and effects of heating. So that we may
distilled spirit becoming coagulated into a body, regard them as names for different stages of one
the dissolved body becoming a spirit. The fixed process.
becomes volatile, and the volatile fixed, by dis­ Sometimes, the purification or transmutation
solution and coagulation.” 23 of elements was described as a process of as­
In one of the strange quirks of linguistic his­ cent, followed by descent. In the “Emerald Tab­
tory the term distilled spirit, having lost its let” attributed to Hermes, it was said: “It ascend-
connection to the process of psychological trans­ eth from the earth to heaven, and descendeth
mutation, became the name for a type of chemi­ again to the earth, and receiveth the power
cally processed beverage prepared by the liquor of the higher and the lower things. So wilt thou
industry; a beverage notable for its effect of have the glory of the whole world.” 26 The as­
blunting the spirit. The original alchemical “dis­ cent is of course not in physical space but rather
[ 92 ] Maps of Consciousness

hands of those who would misuse them for their titled “The Sophie Hydrolith,” is typical of the
personal advantage. alchemists’ attitude:
By and large, the alchemists seem to have
been extremely devout and sincere individuals. In the first place, let every devout and God­
In their “laboratory manuals” the phrase Deo fearing chemist and student of the Art consider that
concedente, “if God be willing,” was appended this arcanum should be regarded, not only as a truly
to the descriptions of their experiments and their great, but as a most holy Art (seeing that it typifies
and shadows out the highest heavenly good). There­
art. Though they knew that many of their doc­
fore, if any man desire to reach this great and
trines, especially the emphasis on Nature as the unspeakable Mystery, he must remember that it is
revealer of truth, were anathema to established obtained not by the might of man, but by the grace
Christianity, which held that church and priest of God, and that not our will or desire, but only the
were the only guardians of truth, yet they saw Mercy of the Most High can bestow it upon us. . . .
themselves as followers of Christ, and as “God­ When you have thus devoted yourself to God and
fearing men.” Carl Jung has devoted consider­ learned to appreciate justly the aim and scope of
able research and scholarship to pointing out this Art, you should, in the first place, strive to
the many parallels between alchemy and early realize how Nature, having been set in order by God
Christian mysticism, especially the Gnostic the Triune, now works invisibly day by day, and
moves and dwells in the will of God alone. For no
school and Manichaeism; and he has also sug­
one should set about the studv of this Art without a
gested that the philosophers’ stone was in many just appreciation of natural processes. Now Nature
ways synonymous with what the Christians may truly be described as being one, true, simple,
called “the Christ,” or “Christ-consciousness,” or and perfect in her own essence, and as being ani­
“the body of Christ.” mated by an invisible spirit. If therefore you would
The following passage, from the treatise en­ know her, you, too, should be true, single-hearted,

"Hear ivithout terror that in the

forest are hidden a deer and
an unicorn. In the body there
is soul and spirit.”
 Alchemy [ 93 ]

patient, constant, pious, forbearing, and, in short, a from the interaction of the four elements. And
new and regenerate man.211 then, “as the three principles are produced out
of four, so they, in their turn, must produce
The counsel of patience is ubiquitous in the two, a male and a female; and these two must
alchemical literature. They warned that undue produce an incorruptible one, in which are ex­
haste could be destructive to the work, an ex­ hibited the four elements in a highly purified
plosion could wreck the “furnace” and wipe out and digested condition, and with their mutual
many months of effort. By explosions the al­ strife hushed in unending peace and good­
chemists presumably meant explosions of anger, will.” 31
or rage, which, if let out, could upset the deli­ In other words, the work is here described
cate balancing of internal chemistry, which the as beginning with the mutual balancing and
art was trying to bring about. Gurdjieff used to harmonizing of the four bodies or levels of con­
say one moment of anger cost him three pints sciousness, from which arises an awareness of
of blood. the three primary forces, and when these are
Besides haste, the other main obstacle the al­ polarized as male and female (sun and moon,
chemists warned of was despair or discourage­ king and queen), they can be united in the
ment. As an antidote to this, “The Ordinal of chemical wedding, and from this conjunction
Alchemy” counsels that “you should take care, will come the philosophers’ stone, the “elixir
from time to time, to unbend your mind from its of the Sages.”
sterner employments with some convenient re­ The trinity sulphur, salt, and mercury, at
creation; otherwise your spirits might be weighed least in the later alchemical writings, is con­
down with melancholy and despair, and you ceived as a trio of forces interacting in every­
might lose heart for the continuation of the thing. “That universal thing, the greatest treas­
work.” 30 ure of earthly wisdom, is one thing, and the
principles of three things are found in one. . . .
The three forces The three things are the true spirit of mercury,
and the soul of sulphur, united to a spiritual
We have seen how the principle of integrating salt, and dwelling in one body.” 32 This is com­
four aspects of the nature of man is of central parable to the yang, yin, and Too of Chinese
importance in alchemy. Most often the four are philosophy, and the Hindu trinity of Brahma,
designated earth, water, air, and fire. Sometimes Siva, and Vishnu. We recall also Gurdjieffs
the process is said to be one of the correct ad­ formulation of the Law of Three: that every­
justments of the four qualities dry, moist, hot, thing is a product of the interaction of affirm­
and cold, which were related to the four hu­ ing, denying and reconciling forces. For the
mors, or psychophysiological dispositions to be alchemists, sulphur is the active, dynamic prin­
sanguine, melancholic, choleric, or phlegmatic. ciple; salt is the female, magnetic; and mercury
The common-sense psycholog}- of everyday or quicksilver is double-natured, ubiquitous and
speech still recognizes these four types, even fluid, like the water of the Taoists. (It must be
though rational minds consider them outmoded: said though that in some texts only two forces
we all know the “dry humor” of the sanguine are described, in which case sulphur is active
character, the melancholic’s “dampening” effect and mercury passive.)
on our spirits, the “hot temper” of the choleric, Sulphur is related to sun, the male aspect in
and the “cool” of the phlegmatic. the conjunction. According to Gerhard Dorn,
Besides the principle of four, the quaternity, “The male and universal seed, the first and
the alchemists also attached great importance to most potent, is the solar sulphur, the first part
the trinity, the duality and the singularity. In and most potent cause of generation”.33 It is
the treatise “The New Chemical Light,” by also referred to as “the homogeneous sperm,”
Michael Sendivogius, the three principles “sul­ as “living fire,” which “quickens and matures
phur,” “salt,” and “mercury” are said to arise lifeless substances,” and as “the spirit of gen-
erative power, who works in the moisture.” In salt is the structural, feminine, magnetic princi­
its crude, untransmuted form, sulphur, if ex­ ple; also the wisdom principle. “And the Light
cessive, is the “cause of corruption,” it is of an was made Salt, a body of salt, the salt of wis­
“evil, stinking odour and not much strength”; dom,”37 according to the alchemist Khunrath.
but, transmuted, it becomes, “the virtue of all The association of salt with wisdom is ancient,
things,” and is compared to a rainbow. and is found in the Gospels, where Jesus refers
The change undergone by sulphur, the male to his disciples as “the salt of the earth,” and
principle, in the course of the work, is indicated admonishes them to “have salt in yourselves.”
in “An Open Entrance,” where it is said that The colloquial expression “with a grain of salt,”
“the coagulating sulphur, which in the corporal still carries this meaning. Wisdom, as an aspect
gold was turned outwards, is turned inwards”;34 of the feminine half of the nature, is embodied
this inward turning comes about when sun and by Egyptian mythology in the figure of Isis (the
moon are united. In other words, inner unity is High Priestess of the Tarot), by Greek myth
brought about by the male principle seeking its in the figure of Athena, and by American
own female consort within the nature, rather myth in the concept of alma mater, literally
than externally. “nourishing mother.” The preservative qualities
Salt, because of its association with the sea of common salt may have contributed to its
and hence the moon, was seen as a feminine, choice as the metaphor for the sustaining
lunar principle. It is referred to as the “perm­ mother-principle.
anent radical moisture,” as the “concentrated Just as the attempt to define Tao led Lao-tse
centre of the elements,” as “common moon,” and into his most mind-baffling paradoxical state­
as the “white water.” In its initial, impure state, ments, so the attempt to describe the nature of
it is ‘Titter” and “harsh,” also “black and evil­ mercurius caused the alchemists to produce
smelling.” Transmuted, it is called albedo, some of their most fantastic formulations. Here
“whiteness,” it is the tincture that coagulates all for example is a passage from “The New Chemi­
substances, even itself. “The salt alkali is hidden cal Light,” in which Nature, in response to a
in the womb of magnesia,” says “The New question from the Alchemist, describes Mer­
Chemical Light.” 35 And in “The Golden Tract” cury, her son: “Know that I have only one such
it is said that “he who works without salt will son; he is one of seven, and the first among
never raise dead bodies ... he who works with­ them; and though he is now all things, he was
out salt draws a bow without a string.” 36 Thus, at first only one. In him are the four elements,
 Alchemy [ 95 ]

yet he is not an element. He is a spirit, yet he phur and salt, between male and female, be­
has a body; a man, yet he performs a woman’s tween spirit and body, is clearly indicated when
part; a boy, yet he bears a man’s weapons; a he is called anima media natura, “soul of inter­
beast, yet he has the wings of a bird. He is mediate nature” or “intermediate substance.”
poison, yet he cures leprosy; life, yet he kills Probably the most concise summary of his na­
all things; a King, yet another occupies his ture and role is “Mercurius is the medium of
throne; he flees from the fire, yet fire is taken the conjunction.” '10 Inner unification takes place
from him; he is water, yet does not wet the in the medium, the neutral field of conscious­
hands; he is earth, yet is sown; he is air, and ness. “Living mercury . . . promotes fusion . . .
lives by water.” 38 it is full of affinity, cleaving faithfully, and is
In a German version of the well-known tale the medium by which tinctures are united, for
of the genie in the bottle, the name of the im­ it mingles most intimately with them, penetrat­
prisoned spirit is Mercurius. A little boy finds ing into their inmost part, for it is of the same
a bottle (the “hermetic vessel”) in the forest, nature.” 41
and a spirit within, calling to be let out. When
he lets him out, Mercurius grows to the size of The two opposites
a giant tree. Later, as a reward, Mercurius gives
the boy something that both heals and turns The “union of opposites” in alchemy is most
metals into silver. often described as the “conjunction of sun and
We would say mercury is consciousness; con­ moon,” also called “gold” and “silver.” “Gold,
sciousness exists on many different levels (ele­ then, being the most precious of all the metals,
ments), can assume many guises, be male or is the red tincture, tinging and transforming
female, young or old, bird or beast; normally, every body. Silver is the white tincture, tinging
it is restricted, “bottled up,” though it has the other bodies with its perfect whiteness.” 42 The
potential of a giant, of a tree. The mobile, text goes on to explain that gold and silver are
elusive fluidity of quicksilver make it an apt not meant here in their “metallic form”; no other
choice of metaphor for consciousness. tincture is meant “but our own.” “There is no
Mercury is described as “dry water,” as “root acid but our own, no other regimen, no other
moisture,” as “invisible fire,” and “scintillating colours.” Sun is described as a “living fire,”
fire of the light of nature”; as “stone uplifted by “ruddy and burning.” The “philosopher’s gold”
the wind” and as “winged and wingless drag­ is a “quickening ferment” which must be sown
on.” 39 Even more graphic is his characterization into the “earth.” Alternatively, the “living gold”
as the dragon Pantophthalmos, who is covered must be extracted from its “ore,” which is the
with eyes all over his body, and sleeps with “earth.” It is called “regenerate gold,” whose
some open and some closed. He is also called red color is due to the admixture of copper. In
“duplex,” “inconstant,” “changing his skin,” a the alchemical drawings, the sun is usually
“hermaphroditic monster,” “good with the good shown above and to the right of the adept, or
and evil with the evil.” These designations are sometimes he is standing upon it. The moon is
suggestive of the image-producing power of above and to the left, or, sometimes, the female
consciousness, the polvmorphous perversity of has the moon below her feet.
ever changing, shape-shifting images with which “Gold,” or “sun,” or “red tincture” would seem
consciousness is programmed. Mercury is every­ to be names for an aspect of inner work: a tool
where, goes everywhere, to the highest and the of transmutation, of purification, and transforma­
lowest, the lightest and heaviest, earth and tion. The transmutation takes place in conscious­
heaven, strong and weak; he is akin to the God­ ness, at least to begin with, and is brought about
head, yet he is found in sewers. He is referred through the action of fire. Mercury multiplies
to as terminus ani, “end of the anus,” but also gold, but “in virtue, rather than in weight.”43
as “carbuncle of the sun.” In other words, consciousness amplifies the
Mercury’s role as the mediator between sul­ transformative power.
 “A wolf and a dog are in one
house, and are afterwards changed
into one.’'

The transmutation of animal aspects

of the nature by “gentle cooking"
in the hermetic vessel. Note the
lingam-yoni symbolism on the vessel.
 Alchemy [ 97 ]

“Moon” in alchemy is the source of moisture, level of consciousness, which has powerful re­
of “hidden dew,” also of “appetites” and emotions sidual imprints and images left over from past
such as anger and desire. It is said that “the evolutionary stages. One alchemical drawing
realm of the perishable begins with the moon,” 44 shows a wolf and a dog fighting with fury and
and the moon is said to be the “contriver of jealous rage. (The wolf and dog appear also in
bodies.” “Hence the body, or moon, has been the Moon card of the Tarot.) This is the strug­
well designated the female principle, and the gle between the wild and the domesticated
water, or sun, the male principle.”45 Lunar animal nature, fighting the evolutionary battle
mythology is associated with animals such as for survival. Hermann Hesse wrote of this con­
dragons, serpents, scorpions, toads; lions, bears, flict in Steppemvolf. Fritz Peris called it the strug­
wolves, dogs; eagles and ravens. Reptiles, mam­ gles between “top dog” and “under dog.” For
mals, and birds appear in awareness, in approx­ the alchemists, when these two are changed into
imately this order, as a result of the conjunction one, they become “the most great and precious
of sun and moon. The “moon” is regarded as the medicine.” The transmutation of animal, lunar
preserver of past evolutionary tendencies and im­ consciousness is also indicated in the frequent
prints. If these animal, lunar, consciousness fac­ verbal and visual references to crowned ser­
tors usurp the human level of consciousness, pents, crowned birds, or winged mammals, or
“lunacy” results. But when the transformative mammals with human heads.
power of the “red-gold sun” is brought to bear The conjunction of opposites was described
upon them, these animal forms will appear in in many different ways under different aspects.
consciousness and be transmuted. One might say the union has to take place on
The alchemists were much concerned with all levels of consciousness. On the level of the ani­
the animal aspects of our nature, or what in mal, creature body, we find representations of the
Actualism would be called the creature-body lion and the lioness. Or, it was said one should

The conjunction of male and

female creature body levels of
consciousness. “Here you behold a
great marvel-two lions are joined
into one”
[ 98 ] Maps of Consciousness

mate the “corascene dog” and the “armenian

bitch.” The marriage of king and queen is the
union of transmuted male and female energies.
The English alchemist John Pordage described
it as the union of Mars, “the fiery life,” and
Venus, “the gentle love-fire.” 46 It was also seen
as the marriage of spirit and body, the integra­
tion of the highest and the lowest, that is,
high-frequency and low-frequency levels of con­
sciousness, fire and water. In the words of Avi­
cenna, “Marriage is the mingling of the subtle
with the dense.”47
In a series of drawings illustrating stages of
the conjunction, the hierosgamos or “sacred mar­
riage,” one can see how the alchemists con­
ceived the gradual, progressive unification of the
male and the female within.48 At first, there is
a man on the right with a sun beneath his feet,
 oVo

and a woman on the left with the moon be­

neath her feet. They are giving each other
their left hands, and with their right hands are
holding crossed branches. Centered above is a
star, and a dove is descending, holding another
branch. A first, awkward, “gauche” contact has
been made between the two halves of the na­
ture, with the help of the bird of peace and the
light of the star.
In the next picture, the couple is naked, they
confront each other more openly, undisguised
and undefensive. Each one is holding the branch
from the opposite hand of the other, indicating
greater interrelatedness. Sol, the male, solar
force, says: “O Luna, let me be your husband.”
Luna, the female, lunar force, says: “O Sol, I
will be receptive to you.”
In the following picture, the man and woman
are immersed in the bath. They are being
bathed, purified, heated; impurities, factors ob­
structing the union, are being dissolved out. “Our
stone is to be extracted from the nature of the
two bodies,” says the accompanying text.
In the next picture, solar king and lunar queen
are mating. They are under the earth and in the
water: the conjunction takes place in the “earth-
body” and in the emotional “waters of life.” The
pictorial version of this stage shows them each
with a pair of wings, indicating even more
clearly the multidimensional nature of this con­
junction: in earth, in water, and in air. Sol says:
“O Luna, through my embrace and sweet love,
you become beautiful and strong as I am.” Luna
says: “O Sol, though your light is the brightest,
yet you need me as the cock the hen.” The text
says, “In the hour of conjunction the greatest
marvels appear.” And “The new light is be­
gotten by them.”
In the following picture, king and queen have
fused into a single being with two heads. They
are shown in a tomb, because the old has died,
and the new is yet to be born. “The death of
one is the generation of the other.” This is the
classic theme of regeneration through death and
rebirth. This is by no means the end of the
process: in subsequent pictures the soul is
shown ascending, leaving the body, the body is
[ 100 ] Maps of Consciousness

further purified, by dew from above, and the himself, as his bride, the Church.” 52 The union
soul returns into the new, lighted, unified, an­ is no longer inner, but outer.
drogynous body. This being was called “son” Jung himself, in spite of his lengthy and pro­
or “daughter” of the philosophers. “Now is the found study of the alchemical texts and his high
stone shaped, the elixir of life prepared, the sensitivity and intuition, did not really grasp this
love-child or the child of love born, the new point. In his book Psychology of the Transfer­
birth completed, and the work made whole and ence he interprets the conjunction in terms of
perfect.” 49 the transference relationship between doctor and
No aspect of the teaching of alchemy, or of patient; again, an external union rather than
esoteric philosophy in general, has been as mis­ the inner.
understood as the concept of the conjunction ox- Freud’s theory of the “primal scene” is another
royal marriage. The difficulty of communication image-distortion of the actual inner union. Freud
stems from the fact that we are dealing with held that most children at some time see their
an experience, and a rare one. To one who has parents copulating and this implants a traumatic
not had the experience, or anything like it, the fearful image of sexual union. From the esoteric
words are sheer fantasy. In addition, the al­ or alchemic point of view, we can see the whole
chemists themselves were most allegorical and notion of the traumatic primal scene taking place
reticent about this aspect of their work. In the “out there” as a defensive fantasy screen, pre­
Rosarium Philosophorum, it was said: “So I venting awareness of the potential creative union
have not declared all that appears and is neces­ of the divine Father and Mother within. For, as
sary in this work, because there are tilings of the Rosarium says: “When my beloved parents
which a man may not speak.” And: “Such mat­ have tasted of life, . . . and have embraced each
ters must be transmitted in mystical terms, like other in my bed, they shall bring forth the son
employing fables and parables.” 50 of the moon, who will excell all his kindred.” 03
There is another reason why it is so difficult to Or, in the words of Paracelsus: “When the
communicate and understand this process of heavenly marriage is acomplished, who will deny
inner union of male and female. There are very its superexccllent virtue?”04
strong psychic image-factors and imprints which
prevent us from coming to a just appreciation The one stone
of this most vital secret. There are internal de­
fense screens which block us from perceiving When the offspring of the inner union has
and experiencing this union. It is precisely for been tested, purified, tempered, and strength­
this reason that the art has been so difficult: all ened by repeated ascents and descents, by dis­
kinds of false interpretations of the meaning of tillation and sublimation, the long sought-after
this marriage are superimposed on the actual philosophers’ stone is produced, “the most an­
meaning, which Higher Self knows. cient, secret, natural, incomprehensible, heaven­
Typically, the union has been interpreted ex­ ly, blessed, beatified, and triune universal Stone
ternally rather than internally. The Christian of the Sages.”55 “This child of the two parents,
Church, which received the teaching of the of the elements and heaven, has in itself such
mystic union from the early Christians, inter­ a nature that the potentiality and the actuality
preted it as the union of Christ and the church. of both parents can be found in it. What will
Thus, Christ had taught, clearly enough: “Make remain there till today, save the stone in the
the male and the female into a single one, so spagyric generation?” 66
the male shall not be male and the female not But what is this stone? “It is called perfect
be female.” 51 Yet, St. Gregory and others of because it has in itself the nature of mineral,
the Church Fathers taught that “When the only- vegetable and animal. For the stone is triple
begotten son of God wished to join his divinity and one, having four natures.” 57 “It is called a
with our human nature, he decided to take unto stone, not because it is like a stone, but only
 Alchemy [ 101 ]

because, by virtue of its fixed nature, it resists “fifth essence,” the quintessence or perfect mani­
the action of fire.” 5S According to the “Emerald festation. The alchemist Geber said: “It illu­
Tablet” attributed to Hermes, “The Sun is its mines all bodies, since it is the light of the light,
Father, the Moon its Mother, the wind bears it and their tincture.” 04 This stone, this “father of
in its womb, and it is nursed by the earth.” 50 miracles,” is acquired through a process an­
Thus the stone would seem to be a power, or alogous to mining: the “bedrock” of truth has
ability, which is acquired in the alchemical art, to be separated from the ore. The superimposed
through conjunction of sun and moon; this power distortions have to be dissolved, until only that
grows at first in the air element, the mental level which cannot be dissolved remains: the “rock-
of consciousness; it is nourished and strength­ bottom,” the “stone.”
ened in the earth element, the physical body. One may ask why the alchemical adepts went
It is called the “flower of gold,” i.e., it is the to such extraordinary lengths to conceal in meta­
product (flower) of the transmutation process phor and parable something as straightforward
(gold). as the ability to be objective. Why not just say
And where is the stone to be found? “Our it the way it is? Because to do so would be to
stone is found in all mountains, all trees, all invite misunderstanding. “Our substance is openly
herbs, and animals and with all men. It wears displayed before the eyes of all, and yet is not
many different colors, contains the four elements, known.” Gn “Learned doctors . . . have it before
and has been designated a microcosm.” 00 It is their eyes every day, but they do not understand
ubiquitous, it enters into everything, it involves it, because they never attend to it.” 06 It is mis­
a synthesis of elements, of bodies, or levels of understood primarily because people do not real­
consciousness. “This stone is under you, and ize that the work of finding the stone has first
near you, and above you, and around you.”"01 and foremost to be performed within. “We can­
But mostly, it is within you: “This thing is ex­ not be resolved of any doubt save by experiment,
tracted from you, for you are its ore; . . . and and there is no better way to make it than on
when you have experienced this, the love and ourselves,” wrote Dorn.07 Both the obstructions
desire for it will be increased in you.” 62 to truth and truth itself lie within us.
Russell Schofield said that “The philosophers’ We cannot be objective about anything ex­
stone is not a magical object, it is the magnifi­ ternal until we can be objective about ourselves.
cent condition resulting from reaching the ob­ To be objective means to be whole. “The goal
jective.” 63 The stone is the ability to be objec­ of our art is not reached until Sun and Moon
tive about fact, to perceive and know the “hard” are conjoined, and become, as it were, one
fact of a given situation as it actually is, without body.”08 This body is akin to the “diamond
preconceived ideas and images distorting the body” of the Buddhist Tantras, the “immutable
fact. Hence, the stone was said to be one, though wisdom” of the “adamantine essence.” It is in­
it could be infinitely multiplied: a fact is unitary, deed a totally transmuted body, a whole, il­
immutable; yet the ability to know the fact, lumined, multidimensional, objective conscious­
once it has been acquired, can be infinitely ex­ ness. “When the pure and essential elements
tended to all situations—all mountains, all herbs, are joined together in loving equilibrium, as they
etc. It was also said that the stone is water: to are in our Stone, they are inseparable and im­
know the fact from all aspects one must main­ mortal like the human body in Paradise.” 60
tain fluidity of perspective. “Standing firmly on
a moving point” is an Actualist phrase for this The new alchemy
perceptual mobility.
To know objectively is to know with the The wisdom of the alchemists was very an­
certainty that one knows. It is to know the es­ cient and timeless. It was, in essentials, the same
sence of the fact from all levels of consciousness, teaching that has arisen at other times and
all four elements; hence the stone was called the places: the wisdom of wholeness and how to
[ 102 ] Maps of Consciousness

attain it. Their metaphors and symbols were ergot fungus claviceps purpurea, which contains
suggested by the concepts of the science of their alkaloids of the LSD family, it is not impossible
day. In this new age, a new alchemy will un­ that this “manna” had psychedelic properties.73
doubtedly arise, that will take into account Other “arcane remedies” mentioned by Paracel­
everything the chemists have learned, and will sus include Nostoch, a gelatinous algae, also
provide more comprehensive and satisfying known as “star jelly” or “witches’ butter”; and
formulations. Melissa (melissa officinalis), a “balm” that was
This will come about when individuals among said to have the power of “supracelestial con­
the natural scientists awake to the simple yet junction.” These four are called aniada, and are
momentous fact that everything that can be said to produce “exaltation in both worlds,” and
studied “out there” can also, and better, be to promote longevity.
studied “in here.” For the barriers to scientific From a chemical point of view it has often
objectivity he within, the doubts have to be been proposed that psychedelic substances act
resolved by inner experiments, and the evolu­ like catalysts in the nervous system; that is, they
tionary purpose can only be understood and ac­ facilitate a chemical change in the fluids sur­
complished within. Afterwards it can also be rounding nerve cells so that these cells will
externalized. If it be asked how I can be so sure respond with increased rate of flow of electrical
of this, I will answer, like the alchemists, that impulses. The heightened perceptual sensitivity
I know it by experiment and experience. is equivalent to a reduced firing threshold of
Gurdjieff attempted to fonnulate a revised al­ neurons. This increased responsiveness could lead
chemy. In his “table of hydrogens” described in to a temporary release from neurophysiological
Ouspensky’s In Search of the Miraculous, he imprints. As one alchemist said: “The drug being
set up a scale of “matters” of different densities ignited, the shadow of the dense body is to be
or frequency rates, from the highest to the low­ stripped away.” 74
est. A segment of this spectrum was the range Most catalysts are reversible, and they will
of matters that involved man. “The chemistry of equally well facilitate the reaction from A to B
which we speak here studies matter on a dif­ as the one from B to A. This appears to be true
ferent basis from ordinary chemistry and takes of LSD. If the prevailing current, metaphori­
into consideration not only the chemical and cally speaking, is to clear existing programs, it
physical, but also the psychic and cosmic prop­ will facilitate this clearing. If, on the other hand,
erties of matter.” 70 the consciousness field is dominated bv mental
A new alchemy is particularly necessary for or emotional imprints, these will be magnified.
the true understanding of psychedelic sub­ Psychedelics can heighten clarity of perception
stances, which are substances whose cosmic and flow of awareness; or they can still further
and psychic properties are startlingly evident. intensify the muddiness of clouded viewpoints
These substances were not unknown to the old and amplify negative feelings. They can “cleanse
alchemists. Paracelsus in particular makes many the doors of perception,” or obscure them still
allusions to herbs and drugs. Cheyri (the yellow further. This is why LSD is only a tool for
wallflower, Cheiranthus cheiri) “fortifies the mi- amplication. It is not by itself a reliable guide
crocosmic body ... so that it must necessarily to direction or purpose or means of attaining
continue in its conservation through the univer­ wholeness.
sal anatomy of the four elements.”71 Therenia- The psychedelic drugs have proved for many
bin, or oil of manna (pinguedo manna), also people to be powerful awakeners to the pos­
known as honeydew, was said to be “heavenly sibilities of consciousness to the Promethean
food,” and “assist sublimation.”72 It has been potentials that are chained, immobilized, and
suggested that since honeydew is the secretion unactualized in most of us. Thus, the discovery
of certain kinds of fungus, particularly the and synthesis of psychedelics is in the true al­
 Alchemy [ 103 ]

chemical tradition of studying Nature to find leave residues obstructing the free flow of en-
aids for man’s evolutionary growth. Among phy­ ergy. On the emotional level we recognize these
sicians, the Naturopaths and Homeopaths who residues as “traumatic complexes.” On the physi­
use natural remedies and endeavor to strengthen ological and nervous level they are experienced
the body’s own innate regenerative powers are as “crystallizations.” In body-work of the Rolfian
the inheritors of the alchemical tradition. The or Reichian type these crystallizations can be
extraordinary potency of LSD, which far ex­ literally felt, producing sharp pain when probed.
ceeds that of any other known drug, suggests Much harder to reach are the imprint struc­
that the mechanism of its action may be similar tures and image-factors, which through long-term
to what the Homeopaths refer to as their “dyna­ hereditary and cultural conditioning processes,
mized serial solutions.” 76 have become crystallized in the brain. It is part
In the new alchemy, current knowledge of of the art of alchemy to dissolve these crystalliza­
biochemistry and psychopharmacology would be tions so that consciousness can function unob-
integrated into an experimentally verifiable structedly, so that higher frequency energy
understanding of the psycliophysiological energy systems can appear more solidly in awareness.
systems, rather than being, as now, a mass of “Dissolve and coagulate.”
separate, unsvnthesized data. It will be found, Again and again the alchemists returned to
as it was found by the old alchemists, that there their theme of studying the “possibilities of
are certain laws that are operative at every level Nature,” and following Nature in her simplicity;
of energy organization and corresponding level of making experiments in order to resolve any
of consciousness. doubts. They counseled that books should be
The modern theory of acid-base regulation in studied, but only to a limited degree, for they
the bloodstream is not unrelated to the al­ can lead astray, whereas Nature does not. So
chemists’ conception of sulphur and salt. Acids “rend the books lest your hearts be rent asund­
carry a positive charge in aqueous solutions, er.” 77 Alchemy is not armchair philosophy or
bases a negative charge. “Acid and base in solu­ speculative science. It is the practice of inner
tion react to form a salt” by a process of “neu­ union on all levels of consciousness, separately
tralization.” 70 By maintaining the hydrogen ion and conjoined. “Many strive to accomplish this
concentration of the blood, the balance of acid separation and conjunction; but few succeed in
and base has an important effect on the psyche. It bringing about a union which can stand the test
is known that excessive positive ionization of the of fire.” 78
atmosphere, as found today in our polluted
cities, reduces the energy charge of the total
EXPERIENTIAL EXPERIMENTS
organism, whereas a predominance of negative
ions, as found in the country, increases the The methods of the alchemical adept of course
charge-carrying capacity of the organism and cannot be described. However, it is possible to
produces a feeling of vitality and buoyancy. develop a sensory-physical understanding of
Acid-base regulation is the “conjunction” of posi­ their ideas. By reading, the mind can only know
tive and negative energies on the molecular level. about something. True understanding however
The old alchemists frequently referred to the involves “standing,” the earth-body and the cells
need for “digestion” by “gentle cooking” with must know it by experiencing it.
“living fire.” We are dealing here with what Sir We can try to get a sense of what the elements
Julian Huxley called “psychometabolism”: the are within us. What is the aspect of our con­
processing of experience-information by the brain sciousness that feels earthy, solid? Can we feel
and nervous system parallels the processing of those structural elements throughout? Can we
food by the digestive system. Experiences that let ourselves sink into earth like into a recept­
are not digested, that “can’t be stomached,” acle?
[ 104 ] Maps of Consciousness

And water-can we let ourselves dissolve into trans. from the Latin (London: James Elliot & Co.,
the fluid medium of life? Can we feel the liquid 1893; orig. publ., Frankfort: 1678). Introduction by
A. E. Waite. This is one of the outstanding anthologies
motion of emotion, as it washes through us? of later alchemical texts, mostly anonymous, published
Can we distinguish the sharp spurting of adren­ in English in a limited edition of two hundred and fifty
aline in the emotions of fear and rage; and the copies. The sentence quoted is found in volume 2, p.
slow, expansive melting of soothing joy; the 183. Jung gives extensive quotations from this and other
salty bitterness of waves of grief; and the balmy alchemical anthologies not accessible to this writer.
Hence, his five books on alchemy are the main reference
sweetness of pleasure? source used here, besides the work mentioned above.
It is worth trying to experience the mixing of 3. “The Ordinal of Alchemy,” Iierm. Mus., vol. 2,
these aspects of consciousness. Fluid feeling be­ p. 12.
coming volatile thought, fiery energy sinking 4. Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams and Reflections
into earth structures. An idea condensing into (New York: Vintage Books, 1961), p. 205.
a feeling, or subliming into a tangible solid, 5. Ibid., p. 221.
6. Ibid., p. 205.
like a snow crystal. “Make tire fixed volatile, and 7. Carl Jung, Alchemical Studies, vol. 13, Collected
the volatile fixed.” Works (New York: Pantheon Books, Bollingen Series
An experiment can be set up analogous to the XX, 1967), p. 138.
one described: an external fire, or candle, is fit. 8. Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 108.
Here it is best to use whatever form of medita­ 9. “An Open Enhance to the Closed Palace of the
King,” Herm. Mus., vol. 2, p. 183.
tion the person has found most efficacious. Let 10. “The Only True Way,” Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 155.
that internal focal point link up with the sound 11. “A Demonstration of Nature,” Herm. Mus., vol. 1,
or visual aspect of the outer fire. The “I” be­ p. 130.
comes an observer or witness. 12. “The Glory of the World or Tables of Paradise,”
It is fruitful also to observe the differences, if Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 210.
13. Jung, Alchemical Studies, p. 73.
any, between the left and right side of the body. 14. Ibid., p. 86.
The alchemical androgynous consciousness, as his 15. “The New Chemical Light,” Herm. Mus., vol. 2,
tantric counterpart, is polarized dynamic male p. 131.
on the right and magnetic female on the left. By 16. Rodney Collin, The Theory of Celestial Influence
observing differences in body sensation in the (London: Stuart, 1954), p. 151.
two halves of the earth-body, we can learn about 17. “The New Chemical Light,” Herm. Mus., vol. 2,
p. 136.
attitudes, feelings, and images that the two 18. Herm. Mus., vol. 2, p. 64.
halves of our nature have toward each other. 19. Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 198.
And we can also begin to see how these at­ 20. “A Demonstration of Nature,” Herm. Mus., vol. 3,
titudes, feelings, and images are projected out p. 135.
onto external individuals in male or female form. 21. “The New Chemical Light,” Herm. Mus., vol. 2,
p. 14.
One minute of such experimental self-observa­ 22. Herm. Mus,, vol. 1, p. 158.
tion is worth several hours of reading. And 23. Ibid., p. 219.
that’s true. 24. Jung, Alchemical Studies, p. 137.
25. Herm, Mus., vol. 1, p. 153.
26. “Glory of the World,” Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 210.
27. Quoted in Carl Jung, Mysterium Coniunctionis,
NOTES AND REFERENCES vol. 14, Collected Works (New York: Pantheon Books,
Bollingen Series XX, 1963), p. 220.
1. The Freemasons had members of their brother­ 28. Herm. Mus., vol. 2, p. 175.
hood among the founding fathers of the American na­ 29. Herm. Mus., vol. 2, p. 74.
tion. They left one of their secret insignia, an eye en­ 30. Herm. Mus., vol. 2, p. 35.
closed in a triangle, on that most universal American 31. Herm. Mus., vol. 2, p. 143.
artifact, the dollar bill. 32. “The Golden Tract,” Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 14.
2. The Hermetic Museum, restored and enlarged, 33. Jung, Mysterium Coniunctionis, p. 113.
 Alchemy [ 105 ]

34. Herm. M-us., vol. 2, p. 165. 60. Ibid., p. 209.

35. Ibid., p. 107. 61. Jung, Mysteriurn Coniunctionis, p. 51.
36. Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 22. 62. Morienus, quoted in Jung, Aion, p. 166.
37. Jung, Mysteriurn Coniunctionis, p. 250. 63. Russell Schofield, “Agni Yoga as Taught in the
38. Herm. Mus., vol. 2, p. 135. School of Aetualism” (Los Angeles, 1969).
39. These descriptions were collected by Jung in his 64. Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 210.
essay “The Spirit Mercurius,” in Alchemical Studies, pp. 65. “The New Chemical Light,” Herm. Mus., vol. 2,
191-250. p. 108.
40. Quoted in Jung, Mysteriurn Coniunctionis, p. 461. 66. "The Glory of the World,” Herm. Mus., vol. 1,
41. “The Golden Tract,” Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 27. p. 173.
42. Ibid., p. 33. 67. Jung, Mysteriurn Coniunctionis, p. 270.
43. “An Open Entrance,” Herm. Mus., vol. 2, p. 176. 68. “The Glory of the World,” Herm. Mus., vol. 1,
44. Jung, Mysteriurn Coniunctionis, p. 145. p. 210.
45. “Glory of the World,” Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 210. 69. “The New Chemical Light,” Herm. Mus., vol. 2,
46. Quoted in Carl Jung, “Psychology of the Trans­ p. 141.
ference,” Practice of Psychotherapy, vol. 16, Collected 70. P. D. Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous
Works (Princeton: Princeton University' Press, Bollingen (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1949), p. 176.
Series XX, 1954), p. 298. 71. Jung, Alchemical Studies, p. 135.
47. Carl Jung, Aion: Researches into the Phenome­ 72. Ibid., p. 153.
nology of the Self, vol. 9, II, Collected Works (Prince­ 73. Ruthven Todd, “Coleridge and Paracelsus; Honev-
ton: Princeton University Press, Bollingen Series XX, dew and LSD,” London Magazine (March, 1967), 52-
1959), p. 167. 62.
48. These drawings and the texts accompanying them 74. Jung, Alchemical Studies, p. 160n.
are from a text entitled Rosarium Philosophorum (“The 75. Brian Inglis, in his book The Case for Unorthodox
Rosary of the Wise”), which Jung quotes and uses to Medicine (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1964), p.
illustrate his (to me, incorrect) thesis that the “conjunc­ 98, wrote: “Perhaps the most striking confirmation of
tion” referred to an external relationship. “Psychology of the homeopathic theory has come out of recent inves­
Transference,” pp. 211-270. tigation into hallucinogens, and in particular into LSD.”
49. John Pordage, quoted in Jung, “Psychology of For an account of the action of homeopathic prepa­
Transference,” p. 301. rations in terms of polymer structures in the fluid com­
50. Jung, “Psychology of Transference,” p. 288. ponent of biological systems, see G. P. Barnard and James
51. Gospel According to Thomas (London: Collins, H. Stephenson, “Fresh Evidence for a Biophysical Field,”
1959), logos 22. in Main Currents of Modern Thought, 24, no. 5 (1968):
52. Jung, “Psychology of Transference,” p. 286. 115-122. The authors conclude that “what the homeo­
53. Ibid., p. 284. pathic physician is attempting to do is to match the pure
54. Jung, Alchemical Studies, p. 163. quantized informational content of particular chemicals
55. “The Sophie Hydrolith,” Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p, 77. to the informational needs of his patients and, at the
56. Gerhard Dorn, quoted in Jung, Mysteriurn Coni­ same time, to take account of the individual capacity of
unctionis, p. 482. the patient to process information at a given rate.”
57. Hortulanus, quoted in Jung, “Psychology of the 76. “Salt,” Van Nostrand’s Scientific Encyclopedia, 4th
Transference,” p. 204. ed. (Princeton: Van Nostrand Co., 1968), p. 1561.
58. “Three Treatises of Philateles,” Herm. Mus., vol. 77. Rosarium Philosophorum in Jung, “Psychology of
2, p. 249. Transference,” p. 274.
59. “Glory of the World,” Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 209. 78. “The Book of Alze,” Herm. Mus., vol. 1, p. 264.
ASTROLOGY I
The Celestial Scenario The study of planetary cosmic cy­
cles and their relationship to life on earth has
been a central interest of man since the be­
ginnings. Some of the earliest known fragments
The cause, clear Brutus, lies not in the stars, of inscriptions remaining from ancient civiliza­
tions are records of planetary positions. Among
but in us. the Egyptians, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Persians,
SHAKESPEARE, AMENDED
Indians, and Chinese there were always mem­
bers of the scholar-priest caste who specialized
in investigations of cosmic phenomena and
sought to relate their observations to the needs
of community and individual. It is only in very
recent times that this branch of learning has
atrophied so that the contemporary scientist-
priest caste concerns itself exclusively with the
precision of quantitative measurement of cosmic
cycles (astronomy); while the study of the rela­
tionship of these cycles to biological and psycho­
logical processes on earth (astrology) is dismissed
as “pseudo-science” and left indiscriminately to
undisciplined fortune-tellers and only a few seri­
ous students.
Up to the times of Johannes Kepler and Isaac
Newton, a mere three hundred years ago, this
was not the case; and these two fathers of
astronomy were interested in and proficient at
astrology, and motivated in their researches in
part by the attempt to understand its scientific
basis. Kepler, in his Tertius Interveniens, wrote
that “it should not seem incredible that from
the stupidities and blasphemies of the astrologers
a new, healthy and useful learning may arise.”
His laws of planetary motion were discovered as
a result of persistent efForts on his part to verify
 Astrology I [ 107 ]

the Pythagorean concept that the cycles of the it to dance.” 1 Kepler is pointing here to what
planets were related to each other in the man­ we might call the response factor, which is not
ner of the notes of a musical octave—the doc­ often brought out by modern astrologers:
trine of “the music of the spheres.” It is an in­ namely, that astrological forces or influences are
triguing question in the history of science why subject to great individual variability, just as is
Keplers astronomical successors failed to share responsiveness to music. The same astrological
his interest in astrology. configuration or aspect may be very influential in
The result of this split has been that astrologi­ one person and not another, depending on
cal practice, with few exceptions, has not kept response factors.
up with developments in astronomical knowl­ Albertus Magnus, the medieval churchman,
edge, and the symbol systems used by astrologers alchemist, and astrologer, explained the free will
are largely based on obsolete information. As a question as follows: “There is in man a double
consequence, there is much dispute among astrol­ spring of action, namely nature and will; and
ogers as to the best zodiac and the best house- nature for its part is ruled by the stars, while the
system, and this disagreement is adduced as proof will is free; but unless it resists it is swept along
of astrology’s unscientific nature by the sceptical by nature and becomes mechanical.” 2 This is
orthodoxy. The fact that similar far-reaching very similar to Gurdjieff’s notion that the attempt
disagreements exist among the cosmological to develop consciousness and being means to
theories of orthodox science does not seem to exert will in a direction contrary to nature,
alter this evaluation. The reason for the dis­ to struggle against natural habits, if one is not to
comfort of the rational, scientifically trained remain a machine.
mind at the thought of astrology seems to be The great modern clairvoyant and prophet
basically two-fold: astro log)' seems to eliminate Edgar Cayce formulated the effects of the
free will or choice; and there is no presently planets also in just this way: “For will is the
known way to account for the supposed effects. factor which affords the opportunity to choose
The notion that astrology does not allow for what is for development or for retardation. . . .
free will is one for which the commercialized Each soul chooses its manifestations. . .. Use such
fortune-tellers and their overcredulous clients directions [from the planets] as stepping-stones
are responsible. It is ever the path of least re­ and do not let them become stumbling stones in
sistance to attribute our mishaps and difficulties thy experience.” 3
to external causes, whether another person, or, The idea that astrology precludes free will is a
more conveniently, since they won’t talk back, complete inversion of its original function, as
the stars. Yet sophisticated astrologers have developed by the Chaldean and Egyptian schools
always pointed out they are dealing not with of adepts. These schools charted planetary cycles
compelling influences, but with tendencies; not and observed their characteristic effects on the
with forces, but with inclinations; with proba­ different human types, and then invented sym­
bilities to behave, think, feel in certain ways, bols to indicate what some of the influences and
which the individual could follow or not as he factors were, that a man had to deal with. In
chose. other words, astrological symbolism was designed
Kepler himself was quite clear on this point: to help man in his evolutionary development;
“There is no evil star in the heavens, . . . for help him to liberate his higher will by making
the following reasons: it is the nature of man clear what some of the factors opposing it are.
as such, dwelling as it does here on earth, that The problem of free will arises only if astrology
lends to the planetary radiations their effect on is considered separately from the purpose of
itself; just as the sense of hearing, endowed evolutionary growth and development. In the
with the faculty of discerning chords, lends to context of growth, planetary “aspects,” like
music such power that it incites him who hears hereditary or acquired characteristics or experi­
[ 108 ] Maps of Consciousness

ences encountered in life, become factors to work ries, which state that there are forms of radiation
with, to assimilate and transmute for the goal of and force fields that affect earth; (2) the theory
individuation. For this reason esoteric philosophy of “planetary heredity,” which postulates a syn­
has taught that there are two kinds of astrology, chronization between cosmic and biological
or two kinds of horoscope: the astrology of man cycles; (3) Jung’s theory of “synchronicity,”
“on the wheel,” and the astrology of man “on which assumes a noncausal linkage between
the path”; or the horoscope of “personality,” and material and psychic processes; (4) theories
the horoscope of “individuality.” The latter which consider the relationship between cosmic
could only be constructed by an astrologer who and human factors as purely symbolic or meta­
was also a teacher and who could accurately de­ phorical and ignore the causal question; and (5)
termine the level of development of being of the theories which attend to astrological factors
person. primarily as an evolutionary map, a kind of
script or scenario designed by the incarnating
Astrological theories entity or soul as it chooses the time, place, and
conditions of its life on earth.
The question of how astrological influences These theories are not mutually exclusive. In
work is, of course, the other major stumbling fact it is my belief that they all contain aspects
block to academic acceptance. Science is notori­ of the truth, and I propose to discuss them as
ously resistant to accepting observations it can­ such in what follows. The survey is by no
not explain; and the highly indeterminate and means exhaustive and is intended merely to stim­
probabilistic nature of astrologers’ observations ulate thinking and suggest possible lines of re­
has not made this any easier. Early attempts to search.
make systematic observations of supposed astro­ Physical Theories. Two major research inter­
logical effects were spectacularly unsuccessful; ests of present day biology are directly relevant
largely because they were based on naive as­ to the perspectives of traditional astrology.
sumptions about astrology. Through the use of Ecology, the science of the interrelations of life
modem statistical methods of analysis and high­ forms and environments, when extended beyond
speed computers, data are beginning to be col­ the planet to include the entire solar system,
lected which can provide a more empirical base becomes the study of the reciprocally interacting
for the new astrology. Some of these empirical field forces of sun and planets. This has been
findings will be reviewed below. called biocosmology or cosmo-ecology.r> The
It should be remembered though that statisti­ study of circadian rhythms has gained increasing
cally valid data are not enough for scientific importance in recent years, and much research
credibility, as the fate of J. B. Rhine’s ESP now exists demonstrating the susceptibility of
experiments clearly shows. The data have to be plants and animals to the twenty-four-hour cycle
somehow integrated into the framework of the of the earth’s rotation.® Extended to sun, moon,
current scientific paradigm. I hope to be able to and other planets, this branch of learning coin­
indicate, with necessary brevity, that certain cides with some facets of astrology.
basic astrological premisses are quite compatible Frank Brown, a biologist at Northwestern Uni­
with the most recent scientific theories and ob­ versity, has carried out numerous experiments
servations.4 on behavior and physiological process in small
The nature of the linkage between planetary animals, unicellular organisms, and plants show­
and other cosmic cycles on the one hand and ing not only that they are of a periodic nature,
processes on earth, particularly in man. on the but that their rhythmic functioning is due to
other, has been conceptualized in a number of their sensitivity to subtle but pervasive physical
different ways which can be roughly grouped stimuli.7 They have been shown to be responsive
into five categories: (1) material-physical theo­ to very weak magnetic fields of the order of
 Astrology 1 [ 109 ]

strength of the earth’s own; to electrostatic fields; and if in one of the alternating negative fields, a
to ultrashort and very long electromagnetic female. Jonas explains his findings by postulating
waves; and to changes in the gravitational field that the ovum’s receptivity to sperm with XX
of then- environment. Sea animals show rhythms chromosomes (female) or XY chromosomes
correlated to lunar phase, even when shielded (male) varies with cyclic variations in the polar­
from external stimuli; when moved to a different ity of the lines of force of the sun’s field.12
locality, still under constant conditions, they can Traditional astrology teaches that this field
reset their cycles to correspond to the new local polarity alternates through the twelve divisions
lunar phase.8 of the ecliptic, called the signs of the zodiac.
Brown postulated that organisms have a mech­ Thus Aries is positive, Taurus negative, and so
anism which acts as “a harmonic analyzer for on. The sun passes through these fields in one
solar and lunar geophysical rhythms and under year; the moon passes through them in a month.
some circumstances becomes a variable fre­ Recent satellite studies of the interplanetary
quency transformer.”9 The capability of bio­ magnetic field have confirmed the presence of
logical life forms, and especially man, to act as periodic reversals of polarity in this field. When
energy transformers is one of the key concepts of positive, solar energy is streaming from the sun;
esoteric philosophy and is implicit in astrology. when negative, the flow is reversed.13
The gross effects of solar and lunar cycles on Dr. Jonas’ results, if they can be confirmed,
the earth’s oceans, on the atmosphere, and on obviously have enormous practical relevance. In
climate has been observed and studied for the first place, they give a way of determining a
some time. Michel Gauquelin, in his book The woman’s fertility cycle, and thus a method of
Cosmic Clocks, has summarized much of this contraception that does not involve mechanical
work, showing the relationship of the eleven-year or chemical intervention, both of which are sub­
sun-spot cycle (which is going through its maxi­ ject to medical as well as religious objections.
mum phase this year, 1970), as well as monthly Secondly, a family could choose the sex of its off­
and daily fluctuations in solar magnetic activity spring, which can be of great value in unbalanced
to processes as varied as physical and psychic families. Since no mechanical intervention is in­
epidemics, revolutions, accidents, heart and lung volved, only the timing of conception to accord
diseases, psychiatric diseases, blood counts, and with the positions of cosmic bodies, the worst
even molecular chemical reactions.10 that could happen is that a child is bom whose
Thus the influence of the sun on all manner of sex is opposite of what was wished for. And, as
processes on earth is demonstrable. The influence Jonas points out, this happens all the time.
of the moon, particularly on the fluids of the Potentially of equal, or greater importance, is
earth, namely tides and rainfall, has also been some preliminary work Jonas has done on the
demonstrated.11 The combined influence of sun effect of certain planetary positions on the viabil­
and moon on female fertility and sex of offspring ity of embryo. This, if confirmed, introduces a
has been the subject of intensive investigation by whole new perspective on the question of
the Czechoslovakian gynecologist and psychia­ eugenics: namely the possibility of heredity con­
trist Eugen Jonas. He has been able to show, in trol without the spectre of genetic manipulation.
studies now covering thousands of cases, that a Satellite observations of the interplanetary
woman’s fertile period recurs each month on solar magnetic field have found it to lie close to
her “lunation birthday,” when sun and moon re­ the plane of the ecliptic, to have a spiral form,
peat the same angular relationship they had and to rotate with the sun in a twenty-seven day
when she was bom; and that the sex of offspring period.14 We see in these observations confirma­
conceived depends on the position of the moon tion of some classical astrological assumptions:
at this time—if the moon was in one of the posi­ the so-called signs of the zodiac (not to be con­
tive fields of the ecliptic, a male child will result fused with the constellations bearing the same
[ 110 ] Maps of Consciousness

name) is a twelve-fold division of the ecliptic, a transmitted to the planets, each modulating its
map of the earth’s path around the sun. The rota­ intensity and frequency in characteristic ways
tion of the sun’s field, plus the movement of the according to the angular relationships between
earth in its orbit, would generate an approxi­ them.
mately twelve-fold variation in the interacting On such a hypothesis, the different frequency
field relationships of earth and sun. rates channeled by the planets at different inten­
Evidence has been found that the sun’s mag­ sities are linked to various biological, psycho­
netic and gravitational fields are modulated by logical, and social processes on earth. In
changes in planetary positions. In 1954, J. H. particular, man as a microcosm has a system of
Nelson, who was employed by RCA to research glands, each of which is assumed to be responsive
factors interfering with the propagation of radio to a particular frequency or type of energy.
waves through the ionosphere, found that pre­ Intensity of activity of the various glandular
dictable disturbances occurred when three or systems in various combinations can certainly be
more planets were either aligned with the sun related to personality and temperamental varia­
(in conjunction or in opposition), or formed tions. Although several sets of correlations of
angles of 90° (astrologically square). Angles of planets and glands have been proposed, there is
30° and 60° and their multiples were also dis­ only little agreement among them. This is an area
turbing, and the more planets thus related the awaiting empirical research.
greater the effect. The planet Mercury (tradi­ A somewhat different and intriguing kind of
tionally associated with communications) was direct physical linkage has been proposed by the
involved in the greatest number of interferences. physicist H. Prescott Sleeper. He has pointed out
The angles though were heliocentric (sun- that the resonant frequency of the ionosphere is
centered), not the geocentric (earth-centered) 8 cycles per second, which corresponds to the
aspects of classical astrology.15 The planets’ frequency of the alpha ryhthm of the human
positions, through their effects on the sun’s gravi­ brain. Thus, the pulsating ionosphere is thought
tational field, also influence solar flare activity.10 of as “driving” the brain waves. Variations in the
This in turn affects weather as well as biological interplanetary magnetic field and other para­
and psychosocial processes on earth, as noted meters could thus affect human thinking and be­
above. havior directly through their effects on the
Angular positions of the planets have been pulsing of the ionosphere.10
shown to effect indices of activity in the earth’s Planetary Heredity. The French statistician
magnetic field. In particular, inferior conjunc­ and psychologist Michel Gauquelin has per­
tions of Venus (when Venus lies in a straight formed large scale investigations, involving
line between earth and sun) consistently and thousands of cases, of the birth patterns of per­
significantly reduce magnetic storm activity on sons in different professions. There was no
the earth.17 Since such magnetic activity has tendency for the births to cluster in the twelve
been related to physical, psychic, and social dis­ houses of traditional astrology, but there were
turbances, these data are an interesting con­ significant relationships between professions and
firmation of the traditionally “benign” effect of which planet was rising over the horizon, or
the planet Venus.18 culminating in the sky, when he was born. Thus
These findings are all suggestive of a model successful physicians were more likely to be
of solar-planetary interaction in which the born when Mars or Saturn were either rising or
planets, through their interacting gravitational culminating. Successful scientists, athletes, or
and magnetic fields, modulate the basic radiation career officers were also likely to conform to this
channeled by the sun. The entire solar system tendency. Painters, musicians, or writers were
functions like a gigantic frequency transformer less likely to be born at such times. On the
in which the energy generated by the sun, or other hand, the rising or culminating of Jupiter
received by it from outside cosmic sources, is was associated with high frequency of births of
 Astrology I [ 111 ]

politicians, actors, and journalists, though not of J. B. Rhine’s ESP experiments, which showed
scientists and physicians. effects independent of time or space parameters,
To explain these findings Gauquelin postu­ as well as looking for an understanding of the
lated an inherited mechanism, responsive to I Ching, astrology, and serial coincidences too
planetary action, which affects the onset of labor unusual to attribute to chance, postulated an
and hence the time of birth. “The organism of “acausal connecting principle,” which he termed
the child is controlled by the laws of heredity; synchronicity. In effect, this states that a link
and it is possible, because of these laws that it may exist between two events or phenomena
will be sensitive to the action of the celestial which is not material-casual, but rather of a
bodies exactly in the same way that his parents psychic nature, a subjective meaning aspect.
were at their birth. The crisis of birth, already Applied to astrology, this would seem to say
gathering itself, would unfold when all the there is this kind of synchronicity between the
favorable conditions have been attained; among calculated horoscope of a person’s birth and the
these, the planets might have their role.” 20 In psychological factors in his make-up. The link
other words, a child inherits from his parents a is the astrological “meaning.”
tendency to be born when a given planet rises Jung compared the horoscopes of several hun­
or culminates, just as he inherits the color of dred married couples with those of unmarried
his hair. To check this hypothesis it was neces­ pairs, and found the astrologically expected re­
sary to demonstrate that there are similarities lationships. The most frequent combinations in
between the positions of the planets at the the married couples were one partner’s moon
parents’ birth and that of their children. Ana­ conjunct the other’s sun; or the two moons con­
lyzing the records of over thirty thousand junct; or one’s moon in opposition to the other’s
parents and their children, significant correla­ sun. Although the frequencies found were not
tions were found. statistically significant, Jung was inclined to re­
The postulated ability of the foetus in the gard the whole experiment as a demonstration of
womb to perceive extremely small changes in synchronicity.22
the interplanetary environment is remarkable, An important consideration emerges from this
though not inconceivable if we remember Frank point of view: like the I Ching, the Tarot, palm­
Brown’s findings of the high sensitivity of or­ istry, and other mantic procedures, astrological
ganisms to the subtle synchronizers from space. horoscope casting is in one way a framework for
According to this interpretation, the position of intuitive perception. I know of one clairvoyant
the planets does not cause the person to have a astrologer who simply looks at the actual horo­
certain type of career. Rather they reveal a scope diagram and then begins to “see” the inner
genetic factor which predisposes him toward this life, the thought forms, and emotional patterns
career. of her client, almost as if she were gazing into a
It is worthy of note that Johannes Kepler ar­ crystal ball.
rived at a very similar hypothesis of the action Jung’s work on marriages has not, to my
of the planets, which he published in his Tertius knowledge, been pursued further though it
Interveniens in 1610: “When a mother is great would be of the utmost interest to do a com­
with child and the natural time of delivery is parison of successful and unsuccessful marriages
near, nature selects for the birth a day and hour in order to have an empirical base for marital
which correspond, on account of the heavens counseling. In this area and in vocational coun­
(i.e., from an astrological point of view), to the selling, an empirically grounded astrology has
nativity of the mother’s father or brother, and enormous practical potential.
this not qualitatively, but astronomically and Symbolic Theories. The majority of practicing
quantitatively.” 21 astrologers adopt what is called a pragmatic
Synchronicity. Carl Jung, in an attempt to ex­ point of view, which says: “I use it because it
plain the apparently inexplicable successes of works”; and do not concern themselves further
[ 112 ] Maps of Consciousness

with questions of how or why. The more so­ ment. It is this which distinguishes astrology
phisticated ones see astrological planets and from other existing models of personality or
signs as symbols or metaphors for psychological typologies: it has an inherent growth factor en­
functions; they analyze the pattern of relation­ abling a person to determine not only what he
ships of the symbols in a chart and hence infer is, but what he can become.
the pattern of relationships of the associated If for example we ask why the twelve zodiacal
psychological functions. types have the symbolism they do, simplistic
Thus, Dane Rudhyar, in his The Practice of answers in terms of the visual appearance of the
Astrology, writes that “Astrology, as I understand constellations will clearly not do. We could see
it, has no concern with whether a conjunction of anything we want to in a pattern of lights. Is it
planets causes some things to happen to a person not rather, as Gurdjieff suggested, that the adepts
or nation; it only indicates the possibility or in very ancient times who devised this typology,
probability of a certain type of event’s occurring chose for each type a symbol that represents
in a certain place at a certain time.”23 What that person’s “chief feature”? It is difficult to
Rudhyar and the majority of astrologers do is to imagine an arbitrary symbol system having the
regard the planets and signs as metaphors for extraordinary longevity and popularity that the
psychological processes just as the alchemists zodiac signs have enjoyed. Something about them
took sulphur and salt as metaphors for internal “fits”; and by seeking to discover how it “fits”
energy processes. The metaphorical meaning is one learns to observe oneself and becomes more
derived in part from the ancient sources, in part aware.
from their own experience and intuition, and in Each sign has positive and negative manifesta­
part from the astronomical facts. Thus, for ex­ tions: inhibits growth in some ways, enhances
ample, the meaning of Mars and Venus in a chart it in others. Buddha was a Taurus; and so was
is partly derived from the Greek myths of the Hitler. One can be “stubborn” in one’s habits; or
gods Mars and Venus, partly from experience of “persevering” in one’s efforts to free oneself from
seeing the role of Mars and Venus in many charts, habits. “Chief feature” is also, in one way, “chief
and partly from the position of the planets Mars obstacle to liberation,” as Gurdjieff phrased it.
and Venus on the outward and sun-ward side of And the chief feature represented by the sun sign
the earth respectively. is, of course, modulated by the aspect relation­
This approach undoubtedly will give some re­ ships of the planets, and in the course of life, by
sults as long as the empirical, factual basis is not the aspects made by planets in “transit” to the
ignored altogether. There are surely distortions natal chart.
and deviations in the traditional meaning-attri­ According to the viewpoint of esoteric teach­
butes of the astrological symbols, and these must ings the basic linkage between the psyche and
be verified anew. In addition, since we are enter­ the cosmic factors mapped out in the natal horo­
ing a new age in which the planetary and sider­ scope is not causal, or even synchronous, but
eal relationships are different, it must be assumed purposeful. The Higher, Immortal Self chooses
that the actual functional patterns of effects on a particular fife pattern for incarnation, for the
earth are changing. They will have to be estab­ purpose of learning and growing; or rather, to
lished on fresh empirical observations for the provide opportunities for learning and growth
new astrology. while in the particular personality and physical
Astrology as an Evolutionary Map. The new vehicle of that incarnation. Higher Self writes a
astrology will be new because it will incorporate script for itself, as it were; which personality ego
modern astronomical knowledge; it will also be then discovers, deciphers, and plays out in order
very old because it will recover what has been to “re-member” its essential unity with the Im­
lost, the significance of astrological factors as mortal within.
guidelines for individual growth and develop­ This, it is taught, is the situation of one who is
 Astrology I [ 113 ]

on the path of conscious evolution. He “has to sometimes gets that an individual one meets is
become consciously aware of the planetary in­ “from another planet.” Cayce specified further
fluences and begin to use them for the carrying that experiences in other planetary fields be­
out of soul purpose.” 24 This is a statement from tween earth sojourns produced mental factors or
Esoteric Astrology by Alice Bailey, a work said thought forms. These act as “inclinations and not
to be the record of telepathically transmitted impelling forces,” in present life. An individual’s
teachings of a Tibetan initiate. In this work it is spiritual growth would depend on how he re­
also stated that for the average man, the man not sponds to the experiences thus induced in life:
consciously searching for purpose, man “on the “No urge surpasses the will of the entity—the
wheel,” the planetary influences condition the birthright given each soul so that it may know
major trends of personality and outer life circum­ itself to be itself, and by choice becomes one
stances. However, “the moment that a man be­ with the Creator.” 28
comes aware of his own soul and is endeavoring What the precise nature of the linkage be­
to control his own ‘path in life’, the influence of tween cosmic cycles and human cycles is remains
the planets, per se, definitely weakens and stead­ to be discovered in future investigations; whether
ily becomes less and less.” 25 He then becomes it is by means of glandular activity rates, or by
more receptive to the forces flowing through the genetic synchronization, or by imprinted thought-
planets, rather than the forces of the planets, and forms—or by means of the “centers” (cakras) and
to the subtler and higher energies of the solar higher bodies. A full understanding of the nature
system. of astrological forces can, I believe, only come
From this point of view, the physical-causal after the actual design of man has been clarified
factors reviewed earlier and the synchronization and experienced in the context of the practice
of biological clocks with the planetary clocks are of methods of expanding awareness and extend­
the means by which the evolutionary script is ing perception.
concretely put into material form. We could say, In other words there is a zodiac within, and
for example, that the incarnating entity, having factors corresponding to the signs and the plan­
chosen to enter as a physician, will adjust the ets within, because man is a microcosm organized
timing factors of the birth process to synchron­ according to the same designs that operate in the
ize it with the rising or culmination of Mars or macrocosmos. With extended perception one be­
Saturn. Thus, the soul’s “life plan” can be read comes increasingly aware of what the inner
off from the planetary patterns at birth, because correspondences of planets and signs are; and
it is purposefully synchronized with the cosmic only then can one correctly evaluate their
cycles to which biological life on earth is sub­ influence.
ject. As Edgar Cayce put it: “The period of the This is why the alchemist Agrippa said: “For
entrance [birth] is not ruled, by the position the planets, spheres and elements in man work
[of sun and planets] but may be judged by the more truly and powerfully through the revolu­
position, as to influences.” 20 tion of their zodiac than foreign bodies or the
According to Cayce’s readings of the akashic higher bodily signs.” 29 Kepler was even more ex­
record, planetary influences in an individual plicit, in his book Harmonices Mundi: “Inasmuch
come about as a result of what he called the as the soul bears within itself the idea of the
“entity’s sojourns” in the fields of other planets zodiac, or rather of its centre, it also feels
between material incarnations on Earth. “Not which planet stands at which time under which
that an entity may have manifested physically degree of the zodiac, and measures the angles of
on such planets; but have manifested in that the rays that meet on the earth; but inasmuch as
consciousness of that environ.” 27 These sojourns it receives from the irradiation of the Divine es­
between earth incarnations in the consciousness sence the geometrical figures of the circle and
of other planets may explain the feeling one (by comparing the circle with certain parts of it)
[ 114 ] Maps of Consciousness

the archetypal harmonies (not, to be sure, in While the details of these systems or the mean­
purely geometrical form but as it were overlaid or ings of the houses need not concern us here, it is
rather completely saturated with a filtrate of interesting to note that contemporary research in
glittering radiations), it also recognizes the biological rhythms has discovered a metabolic
measurements of the angles and judges some as and brain activity cycle of about 90-100 minutes,
congruent or harmonious, others as in con­ which is superimposed on the twenty-four-hour
gruent.” 30 circadian rhythm.33 Such a one-and-a-half-hour
Kepler is here describing an experience of di­ period is not far from the two-hour houses
rect knowing and perceptual awareness of utilized in astrology.
planetary aspects from within. Another example The rising sign and the sun sign are generally
would be: once one becomes aware, within considered the two most important indicators in
oneself, what “Mars” is and what the “sun” is, a horoscope. In classical astrology the sun sign
one can then also know directly their relationship is said to represent Self, or basic life orientation;
(“aspect”) without having to consult one’s horo­ and the rising sign is the projected personality,
scope. The latter may be a useful beginning. For the outward appearance, the mask seen by
some people. others.
In esoteric astrology as formulated by Alice
The circle of houses and the four angles Bailey the emphasis is significantly different:
here the sun sign is said to indicate “the integra­
The language of classical astrology is a set of tion already achieved . . . the responsiveness or
three interlocking symbolic alphabets: the plan­ lack of responsiveness to the soul. . . the present
ets, the houses, and the signs of the zodiac. The point of unfoldment of soul qualities, the present
signs represent the cycle of the earth’s orbit available equipment, the present life quality.
around the sun—a period of one year, divided . . . fundamentally, the forces here are indicative
into twelve equal segments. The houses on the of the line of least resistance.” The rising sign,
other hand represent the cycle of the earth’s on the other hand, indicates the “immediate soul
rotation on its own axis—a period of twenty-four purpose for this incarnation, . . . the intended
hours, also divided into twelve sections of about life. ... it can produce right relationship be­
two hours each. Thus the natal horoscope actu­ tween soul and personality in any one incarna­
ally consists of two superimposed maps showing tion.” 34
the positions of the planets in these two cycles, The difference between these two views of
at a given moment of birth. the sun sign and the rising sign is representative
The circle of houses, which corresponds to of the difference between astrology seen as a
what contemporary biologists call the circadian typology and astrology seen as an evolutionary
cycle, is computed from two points: the ascen­ script. For man on the wheel, the sun sign indi­
dant and the mid-heaven. The ascendant (or cates his basic nature, his chief feature. For man
rising sign) is the part of the sky rising over the on the path, solar chief feature is what he already
horizon at the moment of birth; and the mid­ has accomplished, what is given; and the ascen­
heaven (or zenith) is the part of the sky which is dant shows the direction of growth. Sometimes
directly above at the moment of birth.31 These the sun sign was called the “sun of probability”
two points, and their opposites, are astronomi­ and the rising sign the “sun of possibility.” Our
cally fixed. They represent what are called the Journey to the East begins when we turn to face
four “angles.” To subdivide the cycle further into the rising sun of possibility.
eight houses, as Greek astrology did, or twelve, The work of Michel Gauquelin referred to
as modern astrology does, requires interpolation above showed a relationship between vocational
—and the different methods of interpolating yield prominence and the presence of planets on or
several different house systems, about which near the ascendant and mid-heaven (M.C.). By
there is much dispute in astrological circles.32 considering these two points, or angles, and their
 Astrology I [ 115 ]

opposites, the descendant and the imum coeli begin by plotting out these four angles, along
(I.C.), we obtain a quaternity, or circle, the cen­ with the planets that are on them, weighting the
ter of which is the observer on earth at the mo­ prominence of the angle by the number and
ment of birth. closeness of planets. (Not every horoscope has
planets on the angles, in which case we can use
only the signs and their elemental significance,
as delineated in the following chapter.) Cyril
Fagan has suggested the angles and angular
planets are like the figure in a figure-ground
gestalt. By placing oneself mentally in the center
of the figure and then thinking of the four direc­
tions, east and west, above and below, and the
planetary consciousness factors indicated there,
one can get a feeling for the prominent features
of one’s personality structures as mapped by the
horoscope.
To do this also enables one to recognize some
of the parallelism between the macrocosmic
To the east is the ascendant, rising above the earth-body of the planet and the microcosmic
horizon of awareness, indicating the direction of earth-body of man. Both have a central vertical
future growth and development. Sun, moon or axis, and both a right (west) and left (east)
any planets on the ascendant are rising: their side. The eastern half of the planet, like the left
influence is becoming more prominent in the per­ half of man, is polarized magnetic-feminine; the
sonality. Directly opposite, in the west, is the western half of the planet, like the right half of
descendant, sinking below the horizon, repre­ man, is polarized dynamic-masculine.
senting waning influences of the immediate past.
The descendant, and the planets that are “set­ The two zodiacs and the
ting” with it, may however also represent past cycle of precession
factors or ties that hold one back from further
growth; they are in “opposition” to the ascendant. There are in use among astrologers two quite
The M.C., or zenith, indicates the highest different zodiacs. One of these is the tropical
point, corresponding to the sun at mid-day. It zodiac, which is a map of the movements of the
represents the outer manifestation, the most various planets around the sun as seen from
prominent feature or mask presented to others, the earth. Earth is the center and the two axes
what Jung called the persona. This interpretation are defined by the equinoxes and solstices: 0°
is consistent with the usual position of the M.C. Aries and Libra define the horizontal axis, 0°
at the cusp of the ninth house of religion and the Cancer and Capricorn define the vertical axis.
tenth house of profession. Opposite the M.C. lies The twelve signs simply represent the division
the I.C., or nadir, below one’s feet on the other of the circle into sectors of 30° each.
sides of the earth, corresponding to the midnight The sidereal zodiac refers to twelve con­
phase of the circadian cycle. It represents what stellations or groupings of stars outside of the
is hidden below awareness, and planets on this solar system. The stars in a constellation may be
point can be thought to be important but latent of different sizes and at different distances. It is
influences. They exert “opposition” to the factors possible to chart the movements of sun and plan­
represented by the M.C., until this axis is trans­ ets by reference to these constellations, but the
formed into a creative polarity, making a cross difficulty is that there is no exact way to tell
with the asc.-desc. axis. where one ends and another begins, and they
In studying a horoscope it is often useful to are of quite varying widths.
 1 Sagittarius , Soofpi\q
(Japricomu^,?.

faciS^nt " MfiSS c^urus

<Apj>rox. 2100tjeaes
The two zodiacs in Astrology: The small circle with Earth at its center is the
tropical zodiac of most horoscopes. It is a map of the elliptical orbit of the Earth
around the Sun, through the Suns field. The outer ellipse is the zodiac of
constellations, against which is measured the grand cycle due to precession.
Note that 0° Aries is in the constellation Pisces.

It seems fairly certain that in the early history changes the direction of the polar axis; and it
of astrology the cycle produced by the changing moves the position of the equinoxes in reference
earth-sun relationships in the period of one year to the constellations.30 Precession is a verv slow
was mapped by means of the sidereal zodiac, i.e. cycle of approximately twenty-six thousand
by reference to the gigantic circle of constella­ years; thus it takes about twenty-one hundred
tions.35 When Ptolemy published his Tetrabiblos years, or one-twelfth of this, for the equinoxes
(140 a.d. ), which became the foundation for to move through one constellation. At the time
classical astrology as still practiced by the ma­ of Ptolemy, around the birth of Christ, the vernal
jority of astrologers today, he advocated the use equinox coincided with 0° Aries. It has been
of the tropical system, defined by equinoxes and moving backward through the constellation
solstices, which is the logical system to use for Pisces, and is now entering the constellation
mapping earth-sun relationships, and is the sys­ Aquarius. Hence the Aquarian Age, which fol­
tem used by astronomers. lows the Piscean Age associated with Christian­
Confusion arises because the tropical zodiac ity.
moves when compared to the constellational The changing direction of the polar axis means
zodiac. This is due to the phenomenon known as that the earth’s north pole points to different
precession of the equinoxes, which is a slow, “pole” stars during this twenty-six-thousand-
swinging motion of the earth’s axis of rotation year great cycle. Whereas now it points to the
caused by the tilt of this axis in relation to the star Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor,
ecliptic (orbit). Precession has two effects: it thirteen thousand years ago it pointed to the
 Astrology I [ 117 ]

star Vega; this will again become the pole star In addition to these cycles, there are un­
around 14,000 a.d. Esoteric astrology teaches that doubtedly other cycles in which we, as human
the earth’s north pole is the receiving end of beings living on earth, are involved. The solar
cosmic rays, and this great cycle is believed to system as a whole revolves around the center of
change the star source, and presumably the the galaxy, a cycle that must take millions of
nature, of the radiation input from the far years; it has also been proposed that there is
reaches of the galaxy. a galactic sun of intermediate size around which
Some astrologers propose that the starting our entire solar system revolves, in a cycle of
point of the “grand cycle,” or “polar cycle,” is several hundred thousand years. Sirius, Aldeb-
when the earth’s axis points exactly toward the aran, Arcturus, and other stars have been sug­
star Polaris, which will occur between 2000 and gested for this role, though astronomers have
2100 a.d.37 If this is valid, then not only are we not in general accepted this view. It is well
entering a new twenty-one-hundred-year phase, known, however, that we in our solar system
the so-called Aquarian Age, but we are also com­ are the recipients of innumerable kinds of cosmic
pleting and beginning anew a whole round of the radiation, all varying in rhythmic cycles; chan­
grand cycle. Of course the dates do not have neled, filtered, transformed in various ways as
exact significance, since there are probably trans­ they reach earth.
ition periods of several hundred years between Esoteric astrology teaches that as we free
ages and an even longer transition period for ourselves more and more from planetary in­
the grand cycle. fluences, we gradually become more and more
The shift in the direction of the earth’s axis aware of, and receptive to, finer and higher fre­
through the long twenty-six-thousand-year polar quency radiations from other stars and suns.
cycle may also account for the changing of the “As man evolves the mechanism of response or
areas of concentrated evolutionary activity over the vehicles of consciousness likewise steadily
the surface of the planet. It seems that at differ­ improve. His reactions, therefore, to the plane­
ent times in the earth’s history one or another tary influences and to the energy of the various
area may be the primary focus: in the past it has constellations change.” 39
been Atlantis, Egypt, India, China, Persia, the An example of this change in responsiveness
Mediterranean. Perhaps as the axis turns, differ­ to certain kinds of radiations may be found in
ent parts of the surface of the globe are exposed considering the “eye signs.” 40 It was pointed out
to sidereal radiation which stimulates evolution­ that modern astrologers are almost unanimously
ary energy transformation. agreed that the presence of a planet or cusp on
This grand cycle may also be related to long­ one or more of the three fixed stars Pleiades
term evolutionary processes, in which the whole (28° Taurus), Ascellus (6° Leo), and Antares
of humanity is engaged. The changes in con­ (8° Sagittarius) is indicative of serious eye
sciousness occurring now as we enter the Aquar­ trouble, even blindness. Further analysis showed
ian phase have often been described and are well that these signs were also found in a number of
known. In esoteric astrology it is said that “in individuals with a high degree of perception. In
the greater cycle of man’s many incarnations, he other words, the same star or sign in the natal
. . . passes through the zodiacal circle from horoscope may indicate more sight or less, de­
Pisces to Aries”; 38 that is, man evolves along pending on the response “vehicle of conscious­
with the rest of humanity through the grand ness.”
cycle. The moment he begins to consciously The nature of our changing relationship to
participate in his own evolution, he “reverses the the zodiac and the constellations as we evolve
wheel” and follows a progression from Aries to was vividly expressed by the great Paracelsus:
Pisces, in a counterclockwise direction (though “Constellations are subordinate to the wise man;
not necessarily in a sign by sign order). they have to follow him, not vice versa. Only a
[ 118 ] Maps of Consciousness

man still on the animalistic level is ruled by the quate data have become available about virtually any
planets, just as a thief cannot escape the gallows, biological phenomenon, appropriate analyses have always
revealed its periodic nature . . . living things are not
a murderer cannot escape hanging, a fisher can­ only universally rhythmic but the major periods of the
not escape the fishes, a hunter cannot escape rhythms of plants and animals are normally synchonized
the animals. But this stems from the fact that with the major periods of their external physical environ­
such a man does not know himself, and does not ment.” In F. A. Brown, “Extrinsic Rhythmicality,”
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 98,
know how to use the forces that lie within him,
(1962): 775-787.
and does not know that the ‘constellations’ also 8. See Gauquelin’s Cosmic Clocks, for detailed descrip­
are within him, that the microcosm and all its tions of this research. For a description of the work of
powers are within him. Justly he must be re­ Charles F. Stroebel on the twenty-four-hour cycle in
garded as unwise and be in bondage to all human physiological processes consult: Charles F. Stroe­
earthly mortal factors.”41 bel, “The Importance of Biological Clocks in Mental
Health,” NIMH: Mental Health Program Reports, no. 2,
The key, as always, lies within.
(1968): 323-351. Dr. Stroebcl’s research has shown that
most metabolic processes exhibit twenty-four-hour
rhythmicity. Lack of synchronization between the cycles
NOTES AND REFERENCES of different processes is found in psychosomatic and
many “mental” illnesses. The instinctual, “gut-level”
1. From Mysterium Cosmographicum, quoted in an processes are locked into the circadian cycle more than
excellent article, Wolfgang Pauli, “The Influence of cerebral processes. Drag reactions difFer according to
Archetypal Ideas on Kepler’s Theories,” in Carl Jung the phase of the cycle at which the drug is given.
and W. Pauli, The Interpretation of Nature and the 9. F. A. Brown, “Extrinsic Rythmicality,” Annals of
Psyche (New York: Pantheon Books, Bollingen Series the New York Academy of Sciences, 98 (1962): 785-
LI, 1955), p. 181. 786. “It seems reasonable to postulate that a solar and
2. From Mineraliurn, quoted in Rupert Gleadow, The lunar frequency transformation became a functional
Origin of the Zodiac (New York: Atheneum, 1969), p. characteristic of fixing systems during early evolution
51. in the littoral regions of the oceans where the organisms
3. Margaret Gammon, Astrology and the Edgar Cayce for millions of years were regularly buffeted by the day-
Readings (Virginia Beach, Va.: A.R.E. Press, 1967), p. night cycles and the ocean tides.”
18. 10. The Russian historian A. L. Tchijevsky published,
4. Much of this research has been well summarized in in 1934, studies in which he showed that, over the period
Michel Gauquelin, Cosmic Clocks, part II (New York: from 500 b.c. to a.d. 1900, years of high sun-spot activity
Regnery, 1967). coincided with periods of political unrest and with great
Professor W. R. Fairbridge of Columbia University, epidemics, such as the medieval plagues and the Chicago
in discussing the eleven-year and the eighty-year sun­ smallpox epidemics. Tchijevsky claimed that what he
spot cycles stated: “A direct correlation between ocean­ called “psychic epidemics” coincided with solar activity
ography, climate, solar activity, and celestial mechanics peaks.
thus seems to be probable. Since planetary motions are Friedman, Becker, and Bachman of New York State
rather well observed and cyclic in character, it should University, Syracuse, have publishe’d data showing, over
be possible to correlate and predict climatic-oceanic a period of four years, significant correlations between
events, and thus certain critical environmental factors psychiatric hospital admissions and indices of solar mag­
in human history, with planetary arithmetic. There netic storm activity. “Geomagnetic Parameters and Psy­
emerges the intriguing possibility of a partial justification chiatric Hospital Admissions,” Nature, 200 (1963): 626.
of some aspects of classical astrology, shocking as it Gauquelin has reviewed studies by Japanese, Russian,
may sound.” In: “Geological and Cosmic Cycles,” Annals and European investigators relating monthly and daily
of the New York Academy of Sciences, 138 (1967): 435. fluctuations in solar activity to typhoons and other climatic
5. See, for example, Oliver Reiser, Cosmic Humanism changes; to the floeulation index of blood serum; to the
(Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman Publishing Co., 1966). percentage of lymphocytes in the blood, which decreases
6. W. Wolf, ed., “Rhythmic Functions in the Living when solar activity is high; to the incidence of cardio­
Systems,” Armais of the New York Academy of Sciences, vascular infarctions and deaths from tuberculosis; and
98 (1962). to mining and traffic accidents.
7. “It has become increasingly evident in recent years The Italian chemist Piccardi has shown that the speed
that all organisms are rhythmic systems. Whenever ade­ of certain chemical reactions in an inorganic colloid and
 Astrology I [ 119 ]

the molecular structure of water are affected by daily cathode. . . . The cyclic variation of the influence of
and long-term fluctuations in solar activity. See M. the fields of the ecliptic is connected with the earth’s
Gauquelin, Cosmic Clocks, and G. Piccardi, The Chemi­ rotation. This is a factor which may in some way affect
cal Basis of Medical Climatology (Springfield, 111.: C. the chemotropic processes taking place in the mother’s
Thomas, 1962). system.” In view of the demonstrated sensitivity of
11. In 1962 Bradley et al. reported an analysis of fifty primitive organisms to magnetic, electric, and gravita­
years of precipitation records in over fifteen hundred tional fields, as well as ultrashort and ultralong electro­
weather stations. They found a marked tendency for magnetic radiation, it is certainly not impossible to con­
heavy rainfall to occur four days after full moon, and ceive of a sperm or an ovum being similarly sensitive.
four days after new moon; minimal rainfall occurred 13. R. Lust, “The Properties of Interplanetary Space,”
following first and last quarter. The pattern was exactly Solar-Terrestrial Physics, ed. J. W. King and W. S. New­
reversed for the southern hemisphere, presumably due man (New York: Academic Press, 1967). “The inter­
to the fact that the circulation of the atmosphere in the planetary field is highly organized on a 27-day basis into
southern hemisphere is a mirror image of the pattern four segments within each of which the direction of the
north of the equator. “Lunar Synodical Period and Wide­ field is, most of the time, either positive or negative,”
spread Precipitation,” Science, 137 (1962): 748-749. (p. 20).
Thus the moon, in combination with the sun, exerts 14. W. I. Axford, “Interplanetary Magnetic Field,”
a potent effect on the liquids of the oceans and the New Scientist, 29 (July, 1965): 262-264. “The inter-
atmosphere. But, as Rodney Collin has pointed out in planetar)- magnetic field comprises part of the magnetic
his book, The Theory of Celestial Influence (London: field of the sun. . . . the radial form of the field is more
Stuart, 1954), “the tidal effect of the moon works on reminiscent of what would be expected from a single
liquids incorporated in organic matter as it does on those magnetic pole ... the reason for this ... is that we are
which are free. In fact, the effect is evidently much dealing not with a magnetic field in a vacuum, but with
stronger, for the minute capillaries through which organic a field w'hich is embedded in a fully ionized gas—a
liquids move break them up into masses so small that plasma—with a high electrical conductivity. ... It is
they obey molecular rather than mechanical laws, and believed that the field extends for at least some thousands
are thus infinitely more sensitive than the large bodies of millions of miles, to the region where the solar effects
of water with which we are more familiar” (p. 110). run into and merge with the interstellar medium.”
There have been a number of empirical studies inves­ Sidereal astrology postulates that the sun’s relationship
tigating the legendary effect of the moon on the men­ to sources of radiation from the constellations or fixed
strual cycle; the results here have been inconsistent, stars' changes—and this also is confirmed by these new
some investigators finding an effect, others failing to do observations. To quote Axford again: “The co-rotation
so. of the interplanetary magnetic field with the sun must
12. This work has extended over a period of ten years affect cosmic rays arriving from the remote regions of
and is currently being carried out with government sup­ the Galaxy” (p. 263).
port and the use of computer facilities. The only English- 15. J. H. Nelson, “Radio Weather Forecasting Tech­
language report of the work has appeared in an astrologi­ niques,” Transactions of the Institute of Radio Engineers,
cal journal, F. Rubin, “Lunar Sex Cycle,” American CS-2, no. 1 (1954).
Astrology, 36, no. 5 (July, 1968): 3-11. In this report 16. Rex Pay, "Position of Planets Linked to Solar
the results of four separate studies are given, totalling Flare Prediction,” Technology Week (American Aviation
over four hundred cases and yielding 83-87 percent Publications Inc., May 15, 1967): 1. “Although their
accuracy of prediction of sex. This lunar fertility cycle gravitational effects are many orders of magnitude less
is evidently independent of the menstrual cycle which than that of the sun itself, the time rate of change of the
is used in calculating the fertile period according to the resultant planetary field vector appears to have some
so-called rhythm method. Dr. Jonas stated in the above- triggering effect on the release of solar flares. It appears
mentioned article, that “according to the present scien­ therefore that solar flares can be predicted from the posi­
tific view, the ovum’s metabolic condition is the factor tions of the planets.”
which results in the attraction by chemotropic means of 17. E. K. Bigg, “Lunar and Planetary Influences on
one or the other of tire spermatozoa to the ovum . . . Geomagnetic Disturbances, Journal of Geophysical Re­
why should it seem unimaginable that this material pro­ search, 68 (July 1, 1963).
cess may be influenced in some way by the moon’s posi­ J. A. Jacobs and G. Atkinson, “Planetary Modulation
tion? The research workers who used electric current to of Geomagnetic Activity,” Magnetism and the Cosmos,
separate the two types of sperm and influence their ed. W. R. Hindmarsh et. al. (New York: American
movement have not yet found an explanation of the Elsevier, 1967), pp. 402-414.
migration of one type to the anode and the other to the J. Houtgast and A. van Sluiters, “The Geomagnetic
[ 120 ] Maps of Consciousness

Activity Around Conjunction and Opposition of Planets,” 32. It is not possible, or necessary, in this chapter, to
in Magnetism and the Cosmos, pp. 399-401. go into the technical aspects of casting horoscopes. These
18. Axel Harvey, “The Planets and the Earth’s Mag­ can be found in any textbook on the subject, such as
netic Field,” Correlation, no. 3 (Research Publication of Margaret Hone’s A Modern Textbook of Astrology (Lon­
International Society for Astrological Research, 1969). don: Fowler, 1969). This book also discusses the different
19. H. Prescott Sleeper, “The Pulsing Ionosphere: A house systems. A series of articles on the house systems
Link Between Human Beings and the Universe,” Ap­ appeared during 1969 in Kosmos, a publication of Inter­
pendix in Oliver Reiser, Cosmic Humanism, p. 571. Also national Society for Astrological Research. It is my im­
described in Rex Pay’s article annotated in reference 16. pression that the so-called Birthplace House System, de­
20. Gauquelin, Cosmic Clocks, p. 205. signed by Walter Koch, is the most logical and astro­
21. J. Kepler, Tertius Interveniens, quoted in C. Jung, nomically accurate, Kosmos (April, 1969), pp. 5-8.
“Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle,” The 33. Gay Luce, Biological Rhythms in Psychiatry and
Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, vol. 8, Collected Medicine. NIMH: Mental Health Program Reports, No. 4,
Works (New York: Pantheon Books, Bollingen Series Washington, D.C., 1970.
XX, 1960), p. 497. 34. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, pp. 17, 19.
22. Ibid., pp. 417-531. 35. Gleadow, The Origin of the Zodiac.
23. Dane Rudhyar, The Practice of Astrology (Neth­ 36. Jeff Mayo, The Astrologer’s Astronomical Hand­
erlands: Servire/Wassenaar, 1968), p. 11. book (London: Fowler, 1965).
24. Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology (New York: 37. Dane Rudhyar, The Astrology of Personality
Lucis Publishing Co., 1951), p. 23. (Netherlands: Servire/Wassenaar, 1936), p. 194. “(this)
25. Ibid., p. 16. is recommended on two grounds: 1) Polaris is probably
26. Gammon, Astrology and Edgar Cayce, p. 19. the most brilliant star exactly on the circle described by
27. Ibid., p. 5.
the prolongation of the Earth’s axis; 2) we believe that
28. Ibid., p. 8.
ideas always come to be accepted about the time when
29. Theatrum Chemicum V, quoted in Carl Jung,
Alchemical Studies, vol. 13, Collected Works (New a crucial point in the working out of that to which the
York: Pantheon Books, Bollingen Series XX, 1967), p. idea refers is occurring.”
125. 38. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, p. 20.
30. Quoted in Pauli, “The Influence of Archetypal 39. Ibid., p. 69.
Ideas on Kepler’s Theories,” Jung and Pauli, Interpre­ 40. Phyllis Dee Harrison, “Psychic Sensitive Points,”
tation of Nature and the Psyche, p. 182. Kosmos (December, 1968), p. 27.
31. Though it is technically inaccurate, in the strict 41. The Hermetical and Alchemical Writings of
sense, to equate the mid-heaven with the zenith, and Paracelsus, Vol. 2, trans. A. E. Waite (London: 1894;
the I.C. with the nadir, the difference does not affect the reprinted, New Plyde Park: University Books, 1968),
main point of the present formulation. p. 184.
ASTROLOGY 11
The Planetary Perspective The original meaning of astro-
logical symbolism in its application to individual
evolution has evidently been lost. Present-day
astrology, with few exceptions, concerns itself
largely with the horoscope of personality, not the
We do not try to discover something new,
horoscope of individuality. Yet there are indica­
but to recover that which is lost. tions that this forgotten language will be de­
ciphered again, reinterpreted in the light of
G. I. GURDJIEFF
modern astronomical knowledge, and tested by
means of reliable methods of expanding aware­
ness and perception.
Exoteric science continues to make observa­
tions of the interacting force fields of sun and
planets, and of sidereal radiations, and to mea­
sure their effects on processes on earth. Esoteric
science observes and studies the parallel pro­
cesses within, as states and levels of conscious­
ness. The premiss of the latter is that the planets
and suns are not merely bodies in space; rather,
they are intelligent beings who have the bodies
that we see through our telescopes, and who
are involved in purposeful, cyclic, evolutionary
patterns, just as we are.
From any point of view, exoteric or esoteric,
one cannot help but see evidence of conscious
purpose and design in the rhythmic complexity,
the harmony of cosmic movement, and the inter­
weaving systems of energy transformation. We
are somewhat in the position that a cell might
be were it to become aware of the (to it)
stupendous cyclic processes of metabolism flow­
ing through the body on which it lives and dies.
The physiological body is involved in energy
transformations on a different scale than the
cell; yet these processes profoundly affect the
[ 122 ] Maps of Consciousness

individual cell. Similarly, the body of the planet we can communicate, in consciousness, with the
on which wc live is involved in metabolic pro­ planets and perhaps with the stars. Among the
cesses on a vastly different scale than ours, yet ancient peoples, the gods ruled men; in astrology
they clearly afFect us. Our parent sun, or solar man “on the wheel” is ruled by the planets.
system, is in turn involved in still larger cycles, These same gods helped the heroes—those who
again as far removed in scale from it as we are had chosen the path of consciousness and who
from the sun. struggled for individuality'. Man “on the path”
Astrology is primarily concerned with cyclic can learn to work with the planets.
processes on the next level of the solar system.
Constellations and other sources of cosmic rays, Considering the solar system as a unit, we have
the so-called fixed stars, are also studied, but to seen that modem astronomy and esoteric astrol­
a lesser degree, because they are further removed ogy converge in the view that the basic energv
in scale. flux from the sun is modulated and transformed
Thinking of the planets as intelligent beings on in different ways by the planets. The Pytha­
a larger scale, allows us to consider some of the gorean school formulated this effect in terms of
mass effects of planetary field forces in an inter­ the theory of octaves, the “harmony of the
esting way. For example, on the question of war, spheres.” Just as each note in an octave progres­
Gurdjieff stated that “war is the result of plane­ sion has a definite relationship to the tonic in
tary influences. Somewhere up there two or three terms of vibratory frequency, so each planet was
planets have approached too near each other; presumed to stand in an analogous interval
tension results. Have you noticed how, if a man relationship to the solar tonic in terms of fre­
passes quite close to you on a narrow pavement, quency of vibrations. Just as some combinations
you become all tense? The same tension takes of tones sound harmonious, others discordant,
place between planets. For them it lasts, perhaps, so some combinations of planetary vibrations
a second or two. But here, on the earth, people produce benign conditions on earth, others in­
begin to slaughter one another, and they go on duce discord and conflict.
slaughtering maybe for several years.” 1 It is not Another analogy has been made in terms of
difficult to conceive of the cellular effects of light and color. Wc can think of the planets as
psychic tension in an analogous way: psychoso­ “so many prismatic lenses, each with a different
matic disease is cellular warfare. Conversely, refractive index, which enables it to reflect an
war is a disease of the planet, a kind of organic individual color from the white light of the
psychosis, recurring cyclically. But this does not sun.” 2 This is the basis for astrological attribu­
mean it is an unavoidable pattern; disease- tions of different crystals and gems to the planets.
producing stress can be resisted by an organism The solar system has roughly the form of a
that is basically healthy, whose organs and cells spinning elliptical disc, with the smaller, faster
are resilient and functioning in a balanced moving planets closer to the center, and the
cooperative manner. Planetary stress does not much larger, slower moving planets describing
have to lead to war, if we can learn to transmute longer orbital periods. In general, the density of
it. We must learn this transmutation first within the planet decreases with distance from the sun,
ourselves. If we can learn to resolve “oppositions” whereas the speed of axial rotation, the “vibra­
and “squares” within, we have a chance of re­ tory rate” as it were, increases. The number of
solving them in our relationships with each other. satellites supported by the planet also increases.
Otherwise, clearly not. These physical factors are consistent with the
The Greeks and other ancient peoples associ­ esoteric teaching that the large outer planets
ated the planets with the gods. The physical (with the possible exception of Pluto) are more
planets were the bodies of the gods. If the evolved members of the solar system. They are
planets have a consciousness, or psyche (called less dense, vibrating at a higher rate of fre­
the “planetary Logos” in esoteric philosophy), quency; they are also supporting more satellites
 Astrology II [ 123 ]

table i: Physical Characteristics of the Planets 3

Distance No. of Density Axial Rotation

Planet Relative to Earth Moons Relative to Earth in Earth Days
Mercury 0.4 — 1.3 59.0
Venus 0.7 — 0.9 243.0
Earth 1.0 1 1.0 1.0
Mars 1.5 2 0.7 1.0
(Asteroids) 2.7 0.7
Jupiter 5.2 12 0.2 0.4
Saturn 9.5 9 0.1 0.4
Uranus 19.2 5 0.2 0.4
Neptune 30.1 2 0.3 0.7
Pluto 39.5 ? 6.4

themselves. They are perhaps closer to being caution; religious associations versus national
suns.4 states. According to Dane Rudhyar, Saturn repre­
In this connection it is noteworthy that sents the father-image in the psyche, the princi­
Jupiter, the largest planet (accounting for 71 ple of authority as opposed to the mother-image
percent of the total mass of the planets), with represented by the moon.7 In Edgar Cayce’s
the largest number of moons, the second lowest readings, Saturn has a rather different role: it is
density, and the fastest rate of axial rotation, has said to rule change, especially sudden, drastic
recently been found to be emitting very strong changes; material changes that test one’s pa­
radio waves and to have a very strong magnetic tience. This relates to the teaching that Saturn
field. Astronomers have made calculations which is the planet of lesson learning, of purga­
indicate that “Jupiter emits several times as much tory: “All insufficient matter is cast unto Saturn,
energy as it receives from the sun.”G Again, to work out his own salvation . . . the entity or
these data are consistent with, though they do individual banishes itself ... to Saturn go those
not of course prove, traditional astrology’s as­ who would renew or begin again.”8 In Alice
sumption that Jupiter, after the sun, has the most Bailey’s Esoteric Astrology, Saturn is described
beneficent effect of the planets. as “the planet which conditions primarily the
Astrologically, Jupiter is associated with co­ point in evolution where choice definitely be­
operation, fellowship, organizations, and col­ comes possible, where rejection of opportunity or
laborative groups on the interpersonal level; and its acceptance can consciously be undertaken,
with growth, expansion, magnanimity, ennoble­ and the shouldering of personal responsibility
ment, and broadmindedness on the personal level. becomes a recognized fact in a planned and
It is held to bring abundance when in favorable ordered life.” 9
aspect; to further those qualities that enable one This is one planet that would be seen very
to magnetically attract material resources. Physi­ differently in the horoscope of the personality
ologically, it is traditionally associated with the and the horoscope of the individuality. As one of
liver, the chief organ of elimination and detoxifi­ the “Lords of Karma,” Saturn represents limita­
cation. Edgar Cayce also associated it with the tions to the personality. But from the viewpoint
pituitary, which organizes and balances the func­ of individuality, he represents opportunity for
tions of the other endocrine glands.6 learning and choice and hence potential growth.
Traditionally, Jupiter and Saturn are thought The symbolic relationship between Saturn and
of as polarizing expansion versus contraction; Jupiter in psychic life can perhaps be understood
opportunity versus limitation; generosity versus in the light of the myth relating to these two.
 [ 124 ] Maps of Consciousness

known as Cronos and Zeus to the Greeks. Cronos ginnings and developments in knowledge and
(Saturn) killed and castrated his father Uranos, perception. Thus Sun to Saturn is one octave;
the sky god, who had banished him to Tartarus then a new, higher frequency octave begins. The
for being rebellious. Cronos then took over the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, be­
throne, but it was prophesied that he in turn lieved by astronomers to be the debris of an ex­
would be dethroned by one of his sons. To pre­ ploded planet, is identified with the “planet that
vent this, Cronos devoured his children as they failed,” spoken of in esoteric teachings. Thus we
were born; but his wife Rhea, the earth goddess, have the following progression:
was able to hide one son, Zeus. Zeus finally killed
Cronos and became the chief of the gods. The
goddess Metis became pregnant by Zeus, and an Sun do
Mercury re
oracle prophesied that the child would depose
Venus mi
him, as he had deposed Cronos, and as Cronos
Earth fa
had deposed Uranos. Zeus thereupon incorpo­
Mars sol
rated Metis by swallowing her, and gave birth to
(Asteroids) la
Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom, who
Jupiter si
sprang fully armed from his head.10 Thus
Saturn do
Cronos-Saturn came to represent inescapable
Uranus re
karmic retribution: he was killed by his son as
Neptune mi
he had killed his father. Zeus-Jupiter however
Pluto fa
avoided the retribution and remained chief of the
gods. He resolved the karmic problem by merg­
ing the male and the female in one body: and In this perspective, Saturn completes one cy­
the offspring of this alchemical union was— cle of development from the sun and begins a
wisdom. new one. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are
There is little or no agreement as to the physi­ “higher octaves” respectively of Mercury, Venus,
ological correlate of Saturn. Traditionally Saturn and Earth. It is not that this scheme is correct;
is associated with the skeletal structure, and rather it serves to organize some of the astro­
with the spleen, though it has also been related logical attributes of the planets, as they have
to the gonads, and to the anterior pituitary. The been described.
complementarity with Jupiter is evident here Mercury, traditionally, is the planet of mind,
again: the spleen, on the left side of the body, is speech, communications, sense perception. Mer-
involved in assimilative, anabolic processes; the cury-Hermes was the messenger of the gods.
liver, on the right, in eliminative, catabolic pro­ We have noted the observations collected by
cesses. One might say Saturn, on the level of the Nelson, which implicate the planet Mercury in the
individual, promotes acceptance and assimila­ facilitation or disturbance of ionospheric radio
tion of experiences past and present; whereas communications. Certain other interesting facts
Jupiter promotes expansive, dynamic expression. about this planet have only recently come to
The glyphs of these two planets show a cross light with new techniques of radar astronomy.
and a crescent in complementary relationship: Until recently it was thought that Mercury’s
2f Jupiter and-^ Saturn. It is said that Christ closeness to the sun would “lock” its rotation
was born at a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter so that it would always face the sun one way,
in Pisces. as the moon does the earth. Now, however, it
As is well known, it is only in the last two hun­ appears that Mercury “moves in its rather eccen­
dred years, at the dawning of the Aquarian Age, tric orbit in such a way that at perihelion—near­
that the planets beyond Saturn were discovered. est approach to the sun—it faces the sun one way
These have been linked by astrologers to tran­ around this time and exactly the opposite way
scendence and expanded awareness, to new be­ around the next. So it has two ‘poles’, east and
 Astrology II [ 125 ]

west, which alternately face the sun at the time Thus, it is taught that there is a special link be­
of nearest approach.” 11 In other words, it has tween the psyche of the earth and that of Venus,
the properties of an electric current alternator, leading to a “planetary alliance.” Classical as­
In addition to this polar alternation, Mercury trology referred to Venus, when it rose before
also changes its direction relative to the earth, the sun, as Venus Lucifer (“light-bringer”); in
appearing to move retrograde about six times a the natal horoscope it indicated visionary aspira­
year. It is also the fastest moving planet. Small tion.10
wonder it is associated with winged Hermes, We see again the difference between the or­
carrying messages with the speed of thought. thodox and the esoteric interpretation of Venus.
On the personality level, mind is the thinking, For the former it is personal love relationship.
relating intellect. From the point of view of For the latter it is the love of the Higher, Cre­
growth of individuality, mind is the catalyst, ator Self for its creation: the union and harmony
that which gives direction and determines the of higher and lower natures.
use to which energies will be put. Thus the en­ Mars, the planet traditionally associated with
nobling influence of Jupiter, depending on how biological and vital energy, sex, activity, strug­
it is understood by the Mercury-mind, can be­ gle, assertion, adventure, sports, anger, war, was
come a factor for growth or a factor for per­ often paired with Venus: they were male and
sonality self-aggrandizement. This recalls the female, creative and receptive, expressive and
alchemical conception of mercurius duplex, who attractive. The planetary glyphs and Q
can go to the highest or the lowest places. “Mer­ were adopted by biology to indicate male and
cury is the expression of the dual aspect of the female life forms. Their complementary nature
mind as it mediates between the higher and the in classical astrology is also shown by the fact
lower. . . . This mediation [is] within the per­ that they were assigned the “rulership” of oppo­
sonality, analysing and distinguishing . . . and site pairs of signs on the zodiac wheel. Thus
secondly, it carries messages between the soul Mars rules Aries, the sign of springtime begin­
and the brain and establishes right relations be­ nings, bursting forth; its opposite is Libra, the
tween higher self and lower self.” 12 first sign of autumn, a time of values, kinship,
Venus, astro-mythologically, signifies love, and harmony, ruled by Venus. The second sign
beauty, peace, harmony, magnetic attraction. of spring is Taurus, an earth sign ruled by
The emotional nature, as compared to the Mer­ Venus; and its opposite, Scorpio, the second sign
curial mental nature. Astronomically, we note of autumn, is a water sign ruled by Mars.
that the planet Venus is closest to the earth, in
distance and in density. And that its magnetic
field has a measurable beneficent effect on mag­
netic perturbations on earth. Even more sugges­
tive is the fact that Venus’ axial rotation, unlike
that of any other planet, is slower than its orbit
around the sun and in the opposite direction.
“Today’s best figure [of rotation] of days is ex­
actly the rate which makes Venus face the earth
the same way around each time of the nearest
approach of the two planets. . . . Venus recog­
nizes the position of the earth.” 13
In esoteric astrology Venus has been called
earth’s alter ego or spiritual prototype.14 Venus
is said to be “negatively polarized” (retrograde
rotation?) and this made “possible a mysterious
absorption by the Earth of Venusian force.” 15
[ 126 ] Maps of Consciousness

In esoteric astrology Mars is still related to tion. Uranus is said to be the higher octave of
activity, struggle, and sex, but the emphasis is Mercury; the Uranian consciousness is electric-
different. It is the divine struggle of clashing op­ intuitive. Neptune is said to be the higher octave
posites within, analogous to the role of the of Venus; the Neptunian consciousness is'oceanic-
wrathful deities in Tibetan Buddhism, the forces mystic.
of breakthrough and revelation. “The activity of Supporting the Mercury-Uranus association is
Mars [is] potent to arouse the entire lower na­ the fact that Uranus’ orbit exhibits a similar
ture and bring about its final rebellion and the switching polarity, analogous to an electric cur­
last stand, so to speak, of the personality against rent alternator: “The axis of Uranus lies almost
the soul.” 17 flat upon the plane of its orbit. This means that
Mars supposedly rules and controls man’s ... it turns its two poles in turn directly to the
physical body, or vehicle of consciousness, while Sun and to the Earth.” 19 While the other pole
Venus and Mercury are related to the emotional faces out into the galaxy. Edgar Cayce related
and mental bodies respectively. Physiologically, Uranian influences with a tendency toward ex­
there seems to be unanimous agreement (for tremes—unusual abilities, especially in the area
once) that Mars is linked to the adrenal glands of scientific thinking and occult investigation, as
which, as is well known, function as physical well as extreme mood swings, from very high to
activators and energizers. More generally, the very low.
effect of Mars is to vitalize the bloodstream and The effect of Uranus is electrifying—it awak­
hence all parts of the body. Whether this vitaliz­ ens personality to soul and Higher Self. It is
ing, energizing effect would produce creative associated with the Hierophant of the Tarot,
inner struggle or destructive outer conflict and who shows the hidden, occult way. “Uranus and
anger, would depend on the level of the indi­ Mercury in combination are dualities which the
vidual—his response-ability. disciple learns to resolve and in the process of
The three trans-saturnian planets—Uranus, this resolution he shifts his focus out of the
Neptune, and Pluto—have been associated with human kingdom into the fifth kingdom, the Hi­
psychotic potential (breakdown) by some, and erarchy of souls.” 20
with psychic potential (breakthrough) by Neptune is associated with mysticism, which
others. Again, the difference is whether the per­ is more experiential-emotional-diffuse than the
sonality or the individuality is being considered. occult knowing associated with Uranus. On the
What is dissociative to the former can be revela­ personality level, Neptune rules imagination,
tory to the latter. Great caution is necessary in dreams, films, music, interest in water and
interpreting these factors. oceans. It is also said to be the planet of drugs,
A psychiatrist, Harry F. Darling, has proposed especially consciouness drugs. Esoterically, Nep­
a “co-conscious index,” as a measure of “pro­ tune is related to higher emotional experiencing.
pensity to dissociation.” The index is constructed “When Neptune is thus active . . . then emotion-
bv examining the strong aspects between the desire have been transmuted into love-aspiration
three “trans-saturnian malefics,” and comparing and are dedicated to and oriented to the soul;
them with the aspects made by them with Jupi­ the entire emotional or sensitive nature is re­
ter, the benefic. If all four planets are related to sponsive to energies coming from ‘the heart of
each other by major aspects, the pattern is “asso­ the sun’.” 21
ciated”; if one or more is unrelated, the pattern The role and influence of Pluto have, since its
is “dissociated” and the personality is liable to discovery in 1930, been the subject of much de­
experience severe stress if major malefic transits bate among astrologers, and it can only be said
occur.18 that it is far from clear. Most commonly, it is
But, these very same planets are related, by associated with regeneration, with consciousness
modern astrologers, to transcendence and the development, and with the death and rebirth of
possibilities of higher consciousness and percep­ psychic transformation. Pluto has also been re­
 Astrology II [ 127 ]

lated to secrecy and “depth” investigation, effect on man’s moods and perceptions; whereas
whether scientific (nuclear), psychic or political. we soak up the radiant power of the sun.
Compilations of esoteric teachings such as H. A different though not inconsistent perspective
P. Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine or Alice on the role of the moon is found in Gurdjieff’s
Bailey’s Esoteric Astrology and other works, teachings. Here the notion that the moon is re­
constantly emphasize that the cosmic and psy­ lated to mother functions is reversed, as it were,
chic nature and functions of these more recently and the moon is said to be “feeding on earth.” In
discovered planets will only become clearer particular, the film of organic life on earth, which
gradually, as our attitudes and perceptions acts as a huge “accumulator” of energy from the
change and we are able to observe and test their sun, the planets, and the earth, provides food for
influences. In addition, other planets, now hid­ the moon. According to this view, all movements,
den, remain to be discovered. One of these is actions, and manifestations of animals, plants,
“Vulcan,” which is supposed to be within Mer­ and people, insofar as they are mechanical, are
cury’s orbit and to represent the evolution of the controlled by the moon.22 Another way of stat­
soul-light throught the densest forms of matter. ing this is to say the moon represents our evo­
The relationship of planets to centers of force in lutionary tail, and that the way of liberation is
the bodies of man is also changing in the new liberation from the dominance of these lunar,
age as more of humanity embarks on the con­ instinctive, residual programs and transfer to
scious path of evolutionary development. These programing by inner direction from Higher Self.
assertions and predictions are not so easily dis­ Compared to the ascendant and sun sign, the
missed as sheer speculation when we recall how moon sign would represent the limitations and
uncannily close some of the most recent astro­ handicaps imposed by the past, whereas the sun
nomical data and theories are to the concepts of sign indicates present level of development, and
the occult astrologers. the rising sign future possibilities.
In regard to the role of the moon there is
considerable variance between the classical as­ The transmutation of aspects
trological conception and the interpretation de­
rived from esoteric philosophy. According to When an astrologer interprets the positions of
Rudhyar, the moon represents the mother-image, planets in a natal horoscope he is aware that the
the function of adaptation and adjustment to meaning and influence of the planets are not
life conditions, as opposed to the Saturnian fixed qualities. Not only do they vary according
father-image. Others have related the moon to to whether personality or individuality is being
physiological, instinctive levels of functioning. considered, but the effect of the planet varies
And this, as we have seen, has found some sup­ according to its sign, its house, and its aspects.
port in the data linking the fertility cycle in (The latter refers to the angular relationship of
women to the phase of the moon. We are deal­ the given planet with other planets, as seen from
ing here with the astrology of conception, not the earth.) Saturn in Leo is not the same as
of birth. Saturn in Leo at right angles (square) to Jupiter
Following the formulations of the Tantras, of in Libra. It gives a different perspective on the
Alchemy, and of Achialism, we may relate the Saturnian influence, a different “aspect.”
sun to the dynamic, male aspect of the nature Johannes Kepler, in the passage quoted earlier
and the moon to the magnetic, female aspect. on page 113, believed that the aspects of the
The sun relates dynamically to earth—earth re­ planets, the angular relationships of their rays,
ceives radiation from the sun; and the moon could be determined by inner observation, since
relates magnetically to earth—drawing liquids on we have within us “the idea of the zodiac.” In
earth and in earth’s creatures, receiving reflected fact, Kepler considered aspects the most im­
light from earth. Expertentially also, the moon portant part of astrology. In a letter to a friend,
exerts a magnetic, sometimes almost hypnotic he wrote: “It is ten years now since I rejected
[ 128 ] Maps of Consciousness

the divisions into twelve equal parts, into houses; planet, the apex of the triangle, is supposed to
into dominations, trinities, and so forth. The indicate a specific karmic opportunity or evolu­
only part I kept are the aspects, and I link as­ tionary purpose in this lifetime. A kind of
trology to the doctrine of harmonies.” 23 pointer to the next step on the “way”. It is some­
Numerology is also basic to the aspects: the times overlooked that basically all aspects can
meaning of an aspect relationship between two be reduced to triangles. In Esoteric Astrology,
or more planets is given by the symbolic mean­ Alice Bailey represents planetary, sidereal, and
ing of the number of divisions of the circle, psychic factors on different dimensions all in­
which that aspect represents. The 90° aspect is teracting by way of different energy triangles.
called square, even though it is actually a right- In the horoscope, any aspect between two
angled triangle, because it divides the 360° cir­ planets is actually a triangle made up of those
cle into four; the sextile (60°) divides it into two planets and the earth. Thus, if two planets'
six; the trine (120°) into three; the quintile rays meet at a 90° angle on the earth, they are
(72°) into five; and so on. And the meaning of “square”; if the angle is 120°, they are in “trine,”
these aspects is derived from the numerological and so on. The only exceptions are conjunctions
meaning of the numbers. and oppositions, which are alignments of planets
Certain configurations of aspects have re­ with the earth.
ceived special attention in astrology. There is, The major configurations of aspects involving
for example, the so-called Finger of God con­ more than two planets are combinations of tri­
figuration, in which two planets each are in angles. The T-Square is two right-angled tri­
“quincunx” (150°) to a third planet. This third angles adjacent, so that a larger right-angled

II. SQUARE 60°

triangle is formed. The Grand Trine is three
equilateral triangles, with their apexes all meet­
ing at the earth. The Grand Cross is four right-
angled triangles, with their apexes meeting at
the earth. It is said by some astrologers that the
T-Square, supposedly a “malefic” configuration,
can be “solved” by relating to the point (by
A. Finger-of-God.
planet, house, or sign) which is opposite the
apex of the large triangle (point A). This would
balance the configuration, make the triangle into
a cross, and turn the trinity of planets into a
quaternity, a more stable pattern. In Jung’s writ­
ings there is much emphasis on the changing of
a trinity into a quaternity as one of the key fac­
tors in the individuation process.
Actually, the same method may be applied to
the simple aspects, which are all triangles (with
Earth), as pointed out above. We are dealing
here with a kind of transmutation of aspects—
of planetary aspects and of corresponding per­
sonality aspects. Thus to resolve a “square”
between two planets (which is actually a right-
angled triangle with Earth), we form a cross by
taking a point midway between them, and link­
ing it to Earth. If there is a planet at or near this
point, this planet becomes the balancing factor.
For example, if a person has Venus on the “mid­
point” 24 between Sun and Moon, then the
triangle Sun-Moon-Earth is transmuted into a
cross made by Sun-Moon and Earth-Venus. Psy-

yf a

C. T-Square.

Square transmuted into cross; triangle

into quaternity.

D. Grand Cross.
[ 130 ] Maps of Consciousness

chologically, we could say that the dynamic, We can surmise that the new astrology will
male aspect of the nature (Sun) and the mag­ work with geometric maps of personality struc­
netic, female aspect (Moon) are brought into ture and its evolutionary transformations, show­
balanced harmony by relating the love-nature ing the configurations made by the planets in
(Venus) to the physical body (Earth). their aspects—triangles, crosses, pentagons, star-
If there is no planet on the midpoint, a bal­ patterns, etc. New kinds of spherical geometry,
ancing factor that has the necessary qualities can employing vectors, will replace the static two-
be created by the individual within himself. dimensional models now current. The number
Since we are not dealing with the physical plan­ and strength of aspects would indicate the gen­
ets, but rather with conscious beings who are eral cohesiveness of personality structure. In
focussed in the planets, we can communicate particular, the degree of cohesiveness (aspect
with them in consciousness and relate the plan­ relatedness) between the inner, terrestrial plan­
et’s kind of energy to the corresponding system ets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Sun and Moon) and
in ourselves. The alchemist Agrippa wrote of the outer giants, would indicate the degree to
this process: “For through a certain mental fac­ which the individual can assimilate unusual and
ulty our spirit can thus by imitation be made like intense experiences, outside the normal realm of
some star, so that it is suddenly filled with the conditioned awareness. It would be an index of
functions of a star.” 25 his ability to “ground” or “earth” such experi­
ences. Unaspected planets would indicate the
individual has to focus particularly on bringing
in the function represented by that planet, and
relating it, with awareness, to other aspects of
his nature.

Elements, crosses and signs

The geocentric, tropical zodiac as used in

classical astrology may not be the framework
the new astrology will choose to use. Perhaps a
heliocentric system that corresponds more
closely to the actual field structure of the inter­
planetary magnetic and gravitational fields will
be found more appropriate. A system that shows
both geocentric and heliocentric aspects might
be deemed desirable; especially as it has been
suggested that the expansion of consciousness
involves, in part, a shift from an earth-centered
to a sun-centered perspective. However, the
Geocentric arid heliocentric perspec­
classical geocentric zodiac has acquired a most
tives: If the sun is in 15 Leo, seen
from the earth, then the earth is in extraordinary potency in the collective conscious­
15 Aquarius (exactly opposite), seen ness. Its influence on the mass mind is evidenced
from the sun. The positions of the by its fantastic popularity in the face of strident
other planets will he different and opposition from the scientific establishment,
must be determined from heliocentric which has little difficulty in imposing its point of
ephemeris. view in most other areas.
If it is true, as has been said, that the zodiacal
signs are thought forms, “originally constructed,
or anchored upon the mental plane ... in Atlan-
 Astrology II [ 131 ]

tean days,” 20 then it will be necessary for us to the signs? It must be presumed that they are
understand and absorb the inner meaning of not arbitrary but have a definite meaning in re­
these thought forms before we can establish a gards to the chief feature of the type. The mean­
valid new system. This is one of the functions ing of the picture symbols is only slightly better
of transition periods between ages: they are understood. Much interesting material regarding
times in which we extract from the old maps the sun sign is given in Alice Bailey’s transcrip­
their essential core and are then free to con­ tions; unfortunately there is no space to go into
struct new ones for the period ahead. this in any detail here.
Do we, for example, understand the meaning However, certain general considerations re­
of the glyphs used by all astrologers to represent garding the zodiacal map may be of value. The
[ 132 ] Maps of Consciousness

circle, representing the year, can be divided in Element Body or Level Linked to Physical Body via
a number of different ways, by two, three, four,
Earth Physical —
six, etc. This leads us into numerology and har­
Fire Perceptual Nervous Systems
monic analysis, the modem esoteric and exoteric
Water Emotional Glandular Systems
descendants, respectively, of the Pythagorean
Air Mental Brain Systems
theory of numbers.27
The division into two can give us, for
example, the lower half (Aries through Virgo) Thus we would suggest that each sun sign
concerned with intrapersonal relationships ver­ type would tend to find his area of greatest sen­
sus the upper half (Libra through Pisces) con­ sitivity in the body and activity of the corre­
cerned with interpersonal relationships. Each sponding element or level of consciousness. This
sun sign type can learn a lot about the meaning sensitivity could manifest creatively as a natural
of his sign by comparing it to the opposite sign, ease and freedom of movement on that level; or
in the other half. If we adopt a heliocentric per­ it could manifest as unbalanced hypersensitivity,
spective, the sign opposite the sun sign will be if it is difficult to move from that level to others
the sign the earth is in, as seen from the sun. —the person is “hung” on that level. Integration
Here we are using the principle of interrelation­ presupposes equal facility and mobility on all
ships afforded by duality and eomplementaritv to levels. The sun sign element merely gives the
interpret the meaning of the signs. present dominant direction, the preferred loca­
The division of the zodiacal circle into three tion of awareness.
gives us the cardinal, fixed, and mutable crosses, The threefold division can be related to many
which are related to the Law of Three found in of the esoteric maps previously considered. Here
all religious teachings. Any given sign can be again, we can utilize the Actualist formulation of
interpreted in part through its relationship to one three inodes of awareness: on every level of con­
of the three fundamental forces, the plus-force sciousness, awareness can be either in structure
(cardinal), the minus-force (fixed), and the neu­ (fixed), or in function (cardinal), or in con­
tral force (mutable). sciousness (mutable). The latter is the meditat­
The division into four relates the zodiac to ing principle. As awareness is expanded we
the four elements of the alchemical tradition, to perceive the interaction of consciousness and en­
levels of consciousness. The division into six ergy throughout the structures and functions of
gives us the six positive and six negative signs each level. Thus our point of awareness can be
which has been related to extraversion and intro­ in physical structure or function or conscious­
version respectively. The twelve-fold division of ness; or in the structures or functions or con­
course gives us the well-known twelve types; and sciousness of the perceptual body; and so on for
finally we have the 360 degrees, each of which the other higher bodies.
has been associated with a particular svmbolic Again, integration requires freedom to move
image, the so-called Sabian symbols. freely and fluidly into and out of any of these
In evaluating the personal meaning that any modalities. One will usually not even know one
sign has in terms of inner growth and psy­ has been primarily aware of one of the three
chic transformation, the divisions into the four modes until the beginning of change into the
elements and the three crosses are perhaps most others is felt in awareness. As always, the most
relevant. Recalling the discussion of the four ele­ fixed hang-ups arc the ones we don’t notice—until
ments in the chapter on alchemy, and anticipat­ at last they begin to loosen and we find that
ing somewhat the clarification that Actualism has what we thought was normal, natural, or the
brought to the concept of the higher bodies, or way it is, is actually only one way among many.
levels of consciousness, we may examine the fol­ This threefold principle is related to the as­
lowing relationships: trological and other systems as follows:
 Some Primitive Forms
Right Roun d Rad i ate

The three principles in natural and aesthetic form: right-dynamic, round-magnetic

and radiate-energy.
[ 134 ] Maps of Consciousness

Taoism Creative (yang) Receptive (yin) Tao

Tantra Siva Sakti Brahman
Gurdjieff Affirming Force Denying Force Reconciling Force
Alchemy Sulphur Salt Mercury
Astrology Cardinal Fixed Mutable
Actualism Function Structure Consciousness/Energy
Einstein Radiation (c) Matter (m) Energy (E)
Electricity positive (proton) negative (electron) neutral (neutron)
Mathematics + — —

This list could be extended indefinitely: in one getics” and his method “orgonotic functional­
form or another this principle has appeared in ism.” He considered one of his most important
every civilization, culture, and philosophic- discoveries to be what he called the “plasmatic
scientific endeavor. streaming” of the organism in a state of high
In its application to astrology, the combina­ charge. This is essentially a phenomenon of the
tion of the three modes of awareness with the perceptual-nervous system.
four levels of consciousness can give very valu­ Carl Jung was a Leo, a fixed fire sign. We
able insight. It must be remembered though that would expect him, from this point of view, to
these are probability patterns, not determinate differ from Freud in being more at home in the
sets. And of course they are modified by the perceptual than in the physical level. This is
positions and aspects of the other planets in a strikingly true, in that Jung was blatantly unin­
horoscope. terested in the body. We would expect him to
By way of example it is instructive to compare differ from Reich in being more aware of per­
the psychology of Freud, Reich, and Jung in ceptual structures than of functions. This also
terms of the sun signs interpreted along these is confirmed in that Jung’s chief interest was
lines. Sigmund Freud was a Taurus, a sign asso­ symbols and images (which are perceptual
ciated in astrology with building and con­ structures), whereas Reich’s was perceptual
structing foundations. It is a fixed earth sign. energy flow and functioning.
Thus, in terms of the inner life, we would expect Comparing the three fire signs, we see they
an emphasis on the structural aspect of physical have in common an emphasis on communica­
form. Freud had his most important insights in tion, perception, power transmission. Aries ex­
the area of body consciousness—the mechanisms presses more the dynamic functioning aspects,
by which energy is bound into structures (cath- Leo more the magnetic, charismatic power of
exes), displaced from one area of the body to the “born ruler,” while Sagittarius, the sign of
another, and so on. He spent a great deal of perceptual consciousness, is traditionally asso­
time constructing formal patterns: the so-called ciated with intuition. Intuition, as commonly un­
psychoanalytic theory. derstood, is untrained perceptual sensitivity".
Wilhelm Reich, by contrast, was an Aries, the With growth in understanding, intuition be­
cardinal fire sign in which we would expect em­ comes true vision, as exemplified by Sagittarians
phasis to be on the functional aspect of the William Blake, Beethoven, Paracelsus. The key
perceptual-nervous system. Indeed, Reich was word of this sign is: “I see the goal. I reach the
much more interested in energy flow and func­ goal and see another.”
tioning than Freud; he called his work “bioener­ The three earth signs have in common a physi-

The Three Fire Signs: Aries (cardinal), Leo (fixed), and Sagittarius (mutable).
H
 Astrology II [ 137 ]

cal, time-space reality-based orientation. Capri­ thoven’s highly-charged tonalities are predomi­
corn, the cardinal sign, expresses the functional nantly electric-perceptual; Chopin’s fluid melodic
aspect in its concern with the lawful ordering of waves seem to resonate chiefly to the emotional
reality relationships, whether personal, social- level; whereas the luminous, almost geometrical
political or scientific-natural. Taurus, as noted, lucidity of Mozart’s harmonic patterns inspire
is highly focussed in the basic earth structures; higher-mind as the primary response level. Per­
while Virgo, the mutable sign of earth conscious­ haps the qualities of earth-type music can be
ness, expresses the nourishing, cherishing care exemplified by the dense, almost textural struc­
for material detail associated with the earth- tures of Brahms, who was a Taurus.
mother mythology. The symbol for Aquarius is a man showering
The three water signs have in common a pri­ stars onto the earth from a pitcher he is carry­
mary awareness of and interest in the emotional ing. Mozart, Darwin, Galileo, Swedenborg are
quality of persons and situations. In Cancer all examples of the Aquarian “down pouring” of
(cardinal, functional) we find more the outflow­ mental inspiration from higher sources within,
ing of feeling from the heart, a sense of warm of tolerant objectivity based on knowledge of
enfoldment, a protective embracing; in Scorpio the unity of all, that are the key notes of the age
(fixed, structural) there is more of a dramatic we are entering. “And then the man who bears
feeling of polarities, of opposites in tension, of the pitcher will walk forth across an arc of
emotional depth and magnetic concealment; and heaven; . . . The wise will then lift up their
in Pisces, the mutable sign of feeling conscious­ heads and know that the redemption of the
ness, there is dual fluid sensitivity to both ex­ earth is near.” 28
pressive and receptive flowing, diffusion and
dissolution. The man on the path of conscious evolution,
In the mental realm of air, Libra (cardinal, it has been suggested, consciously chooses (that
functional) expresses the beautifully balanced is, Higher Self consciously chooses) to incarnate
relating possible with detached mental function­ in a certain body, at a certain time and place,
ing. Aquarius, the fixed, structural air sign, is the with a given personality pattern that will in time
scientist-universalist whose garnered treasures of be modified by conditioning factors and experi­
ideas are applied to the sendee of all. And Gem­ ence. The personality is not aware of the soul
ini is the mercurial, mental, mutable conscious­ plan, but it can become aware; at first extern­
ness that flashes with brilliance and speed far ally, through the medium of maps of conscious­
and wide horizontally like the winds over the ness, such as astrology, if skillfully and wisely
earth and oceans. interpreted. In the next stage, he is aided in his
To apply these concepts to someone else, es­ growing awareness, still externally, by a teacher.
pecially someone known only through their self­ Finally, he is able to attend to the teacher
extensions, their creative products, not them­ within. He shifts his attention from the outer to
selves, is of course of only tenuous validity and the inner zodiac. He knows the “planets” within
relevance. They do not in any way explain that —that is, that factor within him that stands in
artist’s work: rather, they are points of view, relationship to the consciousness of a given
perhaps more helpful in understanding the as­ planet. In successive incarnations he enters the
trological symbols than in understanding the signs with more and more awareness, at pro­
artist. gressively higher rates of frequency. “When the
In the realm of musical expression, Beethoven conditioning planetary forces, the expanding en­
(Sagittarius), Chopin (Pisces), and Mozart ergies of the sun sign and the driving energy of
(Aquarius) are illustrative of some of the dif­ the rising sign are all being controlled and di­
ferences between fire, water, and air types. Bee­ rected by the illumined spiritual man, you will

The Three Water Signs: Cancer (cardinal), Scorpio (fixed), and Pisces (mutable).
[ 138 ] Maps of Consciousness

then have a soul upon the very verge of libera­ ful to make geometric diagrams of the aspect
tion.” 29 triangles, as described above. What I am sug­
When he is able to fuse the energies of all the gesting here is a kind of “unpeeling” of the
signs, express all the qualities, not just the ones many layers of the horoscope so that they can
of his sign, he will begin to live as an integrated be understood separately and then synthesized.
being. The zodiac then becomes not just a circle The art of arriving at a total synthetic picture of
of twelve types but an upwardly expanding syn­ a horoscope requires a high degree of intuitive
thesizing spiral of evolution. perception, and presupposes that the various
elements in the chart are first understood sepa­
rately. At a certain point, there may be a kind
EXPERIENTIAL EXPERIMENTS
of gestalt perceptual click, as the whole sud­
The more it is possible to base understanding denly becomes clear.
of astrological factors on actual observations, As mentioned previously, it is particularly im­
rather than on interpretations obtained from portant to pay attention to planets that have no,
reading, the more concrete and effective this or only minor, aspect relationships to other plan­
understanding becomes. It takes a little time to ets; they would indicate factors in the personal­
learn the three symbolic alphabets of astrology, ity systems which are particularly difficult to
as it would any language. integrate. Successful integration here would be
It is good to start out by having your horo­ especially fruitful.
scope cast by a competent astrologer. Even To obtain a sense for the meaning of the dif­
though at first, and perhaps for a long time, the ferent sun sign types, it is useful to make a list
map thus obtained will mean very little. As you for yourself of all the people you know of each
then gradually learn the meaning of various fac­ sign. When I first did this I began to notice
tors, they can be checked out by references to similarities and differences among my friends
your own horoscope. In this way you learn and acquaintances that I had not observed pre­
about astrology and about yourself, at the same viously. You may also add to these lists public
time. personages that you feel you know in some way.
To avoid being overly influenced by the in­ Astrologers are fond of doing the horoscopes of
evitable subjective interpretations of one astrol­ politicians, statesmen, and other famous people;
oger, it is even worthwhile to have the horo­ but in terms of the psychological meaning, art­
scope cast and read by several. I have had mine ists, writers, or musicians, because their inner
read by four different astrologers; since each world is accessible through their creations,
one emphasized somewhat different facets— would probably be more helpful. Great artists
some made sense to me while some did not—I are often those who have particularly vividly ex­
began to get a feeling for the possibilities of pressed their type essence.
different perspectives on the same configurations The symbolic animals of the zodiac signs can
of planets. I might add here that my first read­ be worked with analogously to Tarot images.
ing was a kind of revelation in that it enabled Let the image work in you, observe your own
me to see certain character traits, for which I emotional reactions and mental associations to
had tended to blame myself, as planetary ten­ it. What in me is like a bull, or a ram, or a
dencies given at birth. These then became fac­ dolphin-goat, or an archer-centaur, or two fish
tors I could work with or through rather than swimming in opposite directions? And in what
faults I had to overcome. way? How do I feel about this animal? Do I
Since the horoscope is a complicated, highly have that feeling about something in me? How
condensed abstract map, it is useful to begin does the animal move? What in me moves that
by listing some of the aspects and factors sepa­ way? Try actually moving like the correspond­
rately. Thus, you can make a list of conjunctions, ing animal in order to get a feel for it in body
oppositions, squares, trines, etc. It is also help­ consciousness.
 Astrology 11 [ 139 ]

Groups of persons of each sign can meet and Van Nostrand Co., 1968); and Thomas Gold, “The New
discuss and compare their reactions and feel­ Planetary Astronomy,” and other articles in Technology
Review (October/November, 1969): 44. The last-men­
ings; and they will observe how the same sign tioned source summarizes recent radar-astronomy mea­
can manifest in different ways and on different surements, which have led to revised rotation and density
levels. figures for Mercury and Venus. Figures for the asteroids
You can add up the planets in each element, are included because many astronomers believe them to
in your natal horoscope, and compare the rela­ be the debris of an exploded planet.
4. “Planets are but the form or reflections of solar
tive predominance of each corresponding level
influences. But they too may in some way aspire to be
of consciousness. Thus, if you have no planets in suns, and with Jupiter and Saturn we see their trans­
a water sign this does not of course mean that formation already far advanced. The planet, organizing
you have no emotions, but it may indicate that the earth or matter available to it in imitation of its sun,
you would have some difficulty relating your becomes sun to its own satellites and system.” Rodney
emotional experiencings to other levels of con­ Collin, Theory of Celestial Influence, p. 56.
5. John S. Lewis, “The Chemistry of the Largest
sciousness; or in relating emotionally to others. Planet,” Technology Review (October/November, 1969).
The following list of nature symbols and the 6. Margaret Gammon, Astrology and the Edgar
characteristic attitude of each sign type might Cayce Readings (Virginia Beach, Va.: A.R.E. Press,
be found helpful: 1968).
7. Dane Rudhyar, An Astrological Study of Psycho­
logical Complexes and Emotional Problems (Nether­
Sign Nature Symbol Attitude lands: Servire/Wassenaar, 1966).
8. Gammon, Astrology and. Edgar Cayce. p. 35.
I. EARTH-PHYSICAL 9. Alice Bailey, Esoteric Astrology (New York: Lucis
Capricorn Rocks, Mountains I use Trust, 1951), p. 20.
Taurus Plains, Fields I have 10. Robert Graves, The Greek Myths (Baltimore:
Virgo Caves, Valleys I analyze Penguin Books, 1955), pp. 37-47.
11. Gold, “New Planetary Astronomy,” Technology
Review, 44.
II. FIRE-PERCEPTUAL 12. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, p. 353.
Aries Volcano I am 13. Gold, "New Planetary Astronomy,” Technology
Leo Sun I will Review, 44. Cf. references given under note 17 of previ­
Sagittarius Lightning I see ous chapter.
14. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, p. 683.
15. Ibid., p. 674.
III. WATER-EMOTIONAL
16. Rudhyar, Astrological Study, p. 132.
Cancer Sea I feel
17. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, p. 211.
Scorpio Deep Pool I desire 18. Harry F. Darling, Organum Quatemii (Lakemont,
Pisces River I believe Georgia: CSA Press, 1968).
19. Collin, Theory of Celestial Influence, p. 300.
IV. AIR-MENTAL 20. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, p. 438.
Rainbow I balance 21. Ibid., p. 21.
Libra 22. Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous, p. 85.
Aquarius High Clouds I know
The physical facts of the earth-moon system are suppor­
Gemini Wind I think tive of an interpretation along these lines. The total mass
of all the planets in the solar system is but l/800th of
the sun’s own mass. But the mass of the moon is l/80th
NOTES AND REFERENCES that of the earth. “The Earth seems to be carrying ten
times more weight, size for size, than does the Sun. . . .
1. P. D. Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous The Earth is like a man swinging a two-pound weight
(New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1949), p. 24. at the end of a 30-foot cord. . . . From one point of
2. Rodney Collin, The Theory of Celestial Influence view . . . the Earth is the most hard-pressed planet in
(London: Stuart, 1954), p. 46. the Solar System. Conditions upon it are less free than
3. Data from Jeff Mayo, The Astrologer’s Astronomi­ elsewhere.” Collin, Theory of Celestial Influence, p. 110.
cal Handbook (London: Fowler, 1965); “Planets,” Van 23. Quoted in Michel Gauquelin, The Cosmic Clocks
Nostrand’s Scientific Encyclopedia 4th ed. (Princeton: (New York: Regnery, 1967), p. 47.
[ 140 ] Maps of Consciousness

24. “Midpoints” play a major role in the German of Astrology,” Astrological Journal, Summer/Autumn,
school of cosmobiology, founded by Reinhold Ebertin, 1964; see also Kosmos, August, 1969. “Astrological
and are being used by increasing numbers of astrologers. symbolism is based upon the harmonics of symbolic
Ebertin, R. Combination of Stellar Influences (New circles of relationships.” He argues that there is no rea­
York: Astrology Center, 1969). In this system, neither son to restrict ourselves to the usual harmonics when
the traditional signs of the Zodiac, nor the houses, are analysing astrological relationships. His data showed,
used. Instead, midpoints (or half-sums) between planets, for example, that in the birth patterns of physicians and
and between angular points such as ascendant and mid­ clergymen, analysis in terms of the fifth and seventh
heaven, are computed, and used as the basis for predic­ harmonics and multiples thereof gave very striking re­
tions and prognosis. If no planet occupies a midpoint, sults. “When we consider the relationships of two planets
the configuration is said to be latent, until activated by to each other, we say they are in aspect when they
a transit. Thus, for example, the sun/moon midpoint in reach any one of a dozen or so angular relationships,
this system denotes male-female relationships; if "con­ neatly spaced round the 360 degrees. But we should
tacted” by Venus, love-marriage is indicated; if Mars really get much more out of it if we could begin to
makes the contact, sex is indicated; if Jupiter, birth; if think of them as always in some potentially significant
Saturn, separation; if Uranus, sudden events. relationship, a relationship which derives its significance
25. Quoted in Carl Jung, Alchemical Studies, vol. 13, from the number by which it teas necessary to divide
Collected Works (New York: Pantheon Books, Bollingen the circle in order to describe the relationship” (my
Series XX, 1967), p. 181. italics).
26. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, p. 69. 28. Levi, The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ
27. The astrologer John Addey has applied harmonic (Los Angeles: De Vorss & Co., 1969), p. 10.
analysis to the understanding of the zodiac, “The Basis 29. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, p. 52.
 ACTUALI5M
The Actual Design of We HAVE SEEN' HOW THROUGHOUT

history, in different parts of the world, certain

Man as a Cosmic fundamental teachings, often called esoteric, ap­
Being pear again and again in different forms and
metaphors. Although the basic goal and essence
of these teachings would seem to be the same,
yet there are great differences in formulation;
emphasis is placed differently, according to the
. . . where Gocl-children eternally play needs and conditions of the time and the society
where the teaching arises.
out the infinite variables of the Actualism is a teaching that enables the stu­
Cosmic Learning Game. dent to experience the evolutionary processes
and purposes of man. It is a teaching formulated
RUSSELL PAUL SCHOFIELD for the twentieth-century Western mind. It
teaches and enables one to experience the fact
that man has divine potentials, and that it is the
goal of evolutionary growth and development to
actualize these potentials and objectify them in
creative expression. Most importantly, it teaches
a method, Agni Yoga, by which this may be ex­
perienced and validated by the individual. Agni
means “fire,” yoga means “union”; so the method
is “union by fire.”
The teachings and techniques of Agni Yoga
were developed by Russell Paul Schofield over
a period of twenty-five years and have been ex­
tensively tested. He worked with several clair­
voyants and sensitives in making comparative
observations and experiments on different states
and levels of consciousness. One would rise in
consciousness while the other remained to re­
cord; then roles would be reversed. In comparing
observations they constantly noticed differences
due to the fact that thought and speech pro­
cesses are programmed differently in each in-
[ 142 ] Maps of Consciousness

dividual, so that systematic deviations and dis­ Golden Flower-, among the Hawaiian Kahunas
tortions entered into the information. Renewed and other Polynesian cultures; in ancient South
experimentation and verification was necessary American civilizations and some North Amer­
to reduce or eliminate these deviations. The ob­ ican Indian tribes; in ancient African and Mid­
servations and formulations thus obtained were dle Eastern civilizations, especially those of
related to and synthesized with modem scien­ Egypt and Persia; and, of course, among the
tific conceptions, as well as with corresponding medieval alchemists and related groups.
ancient teachings. By reading the akashic record That Jesus taught with light and healed with
it was possible to determine the original content fire will be evident to anyone who reads the
of many of the ancient teachings, before it was lines of the uncanonical gospels or between the
deviated and distorted by commentators and lines of the orthodox gospels. And he taught also
translators who did not have first-hand knowl­ that “What I do all men can do. I come to show
edge of the methods. the possibilities of man.” But, as has happened
The methods of Agni Yoga were known in so many times in the past, his teachings were dis­
India thousands of years ago, at a time when torted so that men emphasized the worship of
the caste system was, as originally designed, a him as a divine being, rather than the practice
system of division of responsibility and social of his teaching, which was—for each man to
function rather than the hereditary power and recognize that he is himself a divine being, to
status division, which it later became. In those seek the kingdom of heaven within, and to bring
times the priests would sift sensitives from all it forth into manifestation.
strata of the population and bring them into the This is why it is necessary for the actual de­
yoga schools for training. sign of man as God-child to be taught anew in
Similar practices existed until comparatively every age and country; and to be taught with
recent times among the Tibetan Buddhists, who, the methods that make the recognition of man’s
partly because of their geographical isolation, inherent divinity possible, so that it becomes a
were able to preserve the methods and teach­ living, actual experience, instead of something
ings in less deviated form. Western observers only known about.
have documented instances of the lamas clair- “As in all valid approaches to life and living,
voyantly perceiving the birth of high-level sen­ Yoga as taught in the School of Actualism, must
sitives, known as tulkus, in far-off villages and be verified by the student. This might be termed
then sending a search party to find the child and the theorematic approach. The student accepts
bring him to the monasterv. The method of a theorem formulated as a technique, which he
dumo, “inner fire,” was central to the Tibetan experiences; first, with the teacher; next, with­
teachings. out the outer aid of the teacher; and finally, in
Around the turn of the century a Tibetan practical application in the activities of daily liv­
teacher entered into telepathic communication ing, as well as in practice apart from outer
with several Western sensitives, who became his activity.
disciples. Over a period of many years these stu­ “He learns to carry the light of his own inner
dents, among whom were Madame Blavatskv, fire into home, business, profession, social life,
Alice Bailey, Maurice Nicoll, and others, made sports, etc., gradually bringing a growing cre­
extensive transcriptions of his teachings. Here ative expression into every activity in which he
also much distortion of meaning entered into is engaged. He finds his own interior sources of
the process of translation from thoughts re­ strength, wisdom, good will and love, as he
ceived to verbal formulation. The Tibetan knew experiences the fact of his own immortal indi­
of this distortion, mentioned it and lamented it, viduality, the creator of the personality sys­
but was unable to prevent it. tems.” 1
Traces of the methods of Fire Yoga can be In Agni Yoga the living fire is used to bring
found among the Chinese, in The Secret of the light into darkened areas of consciousness; and
 Actualism [ 143 ]

the consuming fire aspect is used to bum out false-to-fact images and mechanisms which dis­
obstructions to the free flow of energy from in­ tort, deviate, and obstruct the actual functioning
ner sources. Thus the actual design of person­ of the structures, and limit our perception and
ality systems is illuminated and the distortions awareness to an infinitesimal fraction of what it
and obstructions produced by conditioning are could potentially be.
eliminated. “As these personality systems are gradually
Here is one way in which Agni Yoga differs lighted from within, the creative expression of
from virtually every other contemporary method Actual Self grows in freedom from false-to-fact
of psychological change: the latter are based on designs, that have come to overlay the actual
the assumption that it is enough to bring some­ design of man, deviating his interrelations with
thing into awareness, to “make the unconscious nature and his fellow mankind.”
conscious” as psychoanalysis puts it. Encounter An example may make this clearer. Among
groups are based on the same premise: that to the most destructive image distortions are those
express the hitherto unexpressed leads to libera­ existing between parents and children. Joan
tion. Experience has shown, however, that this is Grant, in her autobiography Far Memory, re­
far from the case. To activate conditioned im­ lates how distressed and frustrated she felt as a
ages and emotional mechanisms operating below child when grown-ups treated her as a “little
awareness is the smaller part of the process of child.” We overlook that children, as immortal
transformation; the greater part is to eliminate Actual Selves, are just as big as we are. By treat­
the images and mechanisms obstructing and de­ ing them as “little” merely because they are
viating energy flow through the various struc­ temporarily inhabiting a smaller form, we grad­
tures and functions of the personality systems. ually induce them to accept identification with a
It is not generally recognized that experiences small body—an identification that often long out­
leave psychic residues, just as the ingestion of lasts the time when the body has grown. The
food leaves physical waste matter. And just as adult, because of this conditioned misplacement
insufficient assimilation or elimination of physi­ of identity may then feel small, weak, inferior, or
cal food can clog up the biochemical-physiologi­ stupid in ways that are quite at variance with
cal energy exchange processes vital to health, so the facts.
unassimilated experiences can becloud percep­ While working with Agni Yoga methods to
tion and awareness. What psychiatry calls a establish inner communication with my three-
complex is essentially an undigested perceptual, year-old son, who was living in another city, I
emotional, or mental experience; one that finally recognized the instant that our Actual
“couldn’t be stomached.” It is rejected by the Selves made contact. Inadvertently, I had been
individual and thus separated off from aware­ thinking of him as “my little boy”; and his first
ness, though still active on other levels of response to me was clear and emphatic: “Don’t
consciousness; a barrier of fear prevents recogni­ you ‘little boy’ me.” By this, his Immortal Self
tion. We do not see our own blind spots though made me aware how our relationship had been
they may be blatant to others. falsely based on outer appearance. Later, when
In Agni Yoga these separated, undigested, I was with him physically, I found that if he was
psychic energy-packets, or images, are handled crying in a way that would tend to evoke the
with light-fire—that is with high-frequency en­ poor-little-bov image, and instead of going along
ergy. Analogously to the processing of food, with that image I remembered the recognition
what is of value in them is extracted and assimi­ of his giant Actual Self, he would quickly stop
lated; what is not is eliminated, burned out. By crying.
practicing this method we find that the struc­ This and other experiences taught me how
tures and functions of the body and the various subtle and pervasive the images are that deviate
levels of consciousness both above and below our relationships with each other. It is impos­
the physical are programmed with numerous sible to relate to another in a way that expresses
[ 144 ] Maps of Consciousness

the actual unity that we have as God-children ‘ I am that I am’

until and unless these deviations are recognized The Presence within
and cleared out within one’s own levels of con­ Each human form.” 2
sciousness. While many have observed these ob­
structing images and described them, and even Russell Schofield has used the metaphor of a
recognized them in themselves, to be actually deep-sea diver who has all the connections for
free of them is quite another proposition. It is food, air, and communications to the upper,
not enough to wish they were not there, or de­ lighter world above the surface, but who has
cide mentally that one is not going to react to somehow forgotten how to use them; they have
them. Unless the imprinted and conditioned pro­ become tangled up and useless so that he is
grams are eliminated by consuming fire on each trapped in this dense domain, instead of being
level of consciousness, they will continue to able to move up or down freely and at will. So
operate in personality behavior outside the man, according to actual design, has the capa­
sphere of awareness. bility of moving up or down in vibratory rate of
In ancient Indian philosophy the illusory play consciousness; but he has lost the connections
of images was referred to as maijd, the veil. The to the higher frequency realms and hence feels
consuming fire was symbolized in the Dance of trapped and immobilized by the conditions and
Siva: Siva is shown surrounded by a ring of events of the external world, the so-called re­
flames, crushing an ugly dwarf under his feet. ality.
The dwarf represents the images which “dwarf” The myth of the fall of man refers to this
our consciousness. When they are consumed situation: once we lived close to God, the God
through the transforming power of inner fire, within; now, false-to-fact designs have cut off
man can become the God that he actually is. our awareness so that we feel alone in the
Later interpretations of Indian mythology world, fighting for survival, victimized by “the
misrepresent the role of Siva as an external cos­ slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” Man
mic destructive force. But the actual structures carries within him the archetype of his actual
are not destroyed by the Dance of Siva—only the freedom, however deeply it may be buried un­
false-to-fact images superimposed on the struc­ der layers upon layers of genetically transmitted
tures are stripped away, so that the Being of and culturally acquired imprints that take form
light within can shine forth. Jesus said, accord­ as images.
ing to the Gospel of Thomas, “within a man of It is another distortion to say, as the legend
light there is light, and he lights the whole world.” is now interpreted, that we were expelled from
Far from destroying or denying structure, as the garden, and that it was as a punishment.
ascetic and martyr images would have it, the This is a guilt-blame mechanism which keeps us
high-frequency energies actually support and all the more securely trapped. The fact is that
vitalize the structures and functions of the dif­ we were given free will by the immortal Actual
ferent levels of consciousness: they become Self to leave the higher Paradise levels of
lighted instead of obscured, lightened instead of consciousness; and we chose to enter into space-
heavy, awakened instead of asleep, free instead time incarnation in order to carry out a particu­
of bound. lar evolutionary purpose. We were given this
free choice and we still have it. Each personality
“Each lamplighter can choose whether to follow the inner direc­
Creates and recreates tion of Actual Self, or whether to continue on
His creature body a stimulus-response bond basis following only
Till all frequencies external goals. This free choice is a necessary as­
Of Light pect of the “cosmic learning game.”
Flow creatively Of course, the will of mankind has long since
In every touch of ceased to be free. Freedom of choice has be-
Dance of Siva.
[ 146 ] Maps of Consciousness

come completely conditioned and hypnotized by sciousness and mass-mind is a two-way sym­
images that have been created by mankind and biosis: one feeds on the other. Newspapers,
passed down the generations, and now these magazines, radio, television are the means, the
images and false-to-fact designs victimize and media, by which this connection is reinforced and
enslave the personality. Like somnambulists we maintained. Thus a good sampling of mass-mind
stagger around with our eyes closed to actual image factors can be obtained by scanning the
light, following the dreams and fantasies which media and noting the recurrent themes. They
have become our “reality.” Yet at each step of correspond in detail to the major imprints and
the way, as the will is gradually freed from the images governing human interactions in the
slavery of conditioning, it has the choice of spheres of daily living.
accepting the freedom and using it for evolu­ This symbiotic relationship is a major deter­
tionary growth or sinking back into the lulling minant of the impact of the media. For example,
sleep of image-dominated existence. the degree of violence portrayed on television is
Not only does each personality have free will, a reflection of conditioned tendencies toward
but each personality system, each organ, each violence existing in the mass-mind as well as
cell even has free will. In conditions of im­ at some levels in individual consciousness. Yet
potence or frigidity for example, the sexual the media do more than merely mirror these
organs are asserting their free will, refusing to conditioned tendencies and image-factors: they
cooperate with the behavior proposed by an­ selectively dramatize and even idealize violence
other system with which they are not in agree­ and destructiveness which is then accepted by
ment. In contemporary depth psychology such millions of individuals and thus further reinforces
phenomena are taken as indicating the existence the power of the mass-mind to motivate more and
of “unconscious” factors. From an Actualist point more individuals accordingly.
of view however, the notion of the “unconscious” Thus again and again, in the name of dramatic
is a mind-created barrier to self-knowledge. effect and realism, more and more power is given
Rather Actualism would say that with the ex­ to false-to-fact designs and images of self and
pansion of awareness and extension of perception others that obstruct and pervert man’s aware­
we are awakened to the consciousness existing ness of his interrelations with others, as well
heretofore outside of awareness: therefore we as the interrelations within his own personality
can experience energy flow and forces at lower systems. The media, functioning as the nervous
and higher levels of consciousness. system of the social body, communicate and
Similarly, what Jung called the “collective un­ amplify these imaged distortions of man’s actual
conscious,” though collective, is far from being nature wherever they arise. However, as these
unconscious: rather it is the total collection of are gradually eliminated from within more and
mass-mind images and designs with which we more individuals the motivating power of the
are constantly programmed at all levels of con­ mass-mind factors in the thought-field (or
sciousness, both above and below those of which “noosphere”) of the planet and their dominance
we are aware. As such programmed response of the media will diminish and gradually dis­
takes place in a personality, in groups, in na­ appear.
tions, the mass-mind thought forms gain in
power, and are thus able to program our con­ “The long, slow
sciousness even more powerfully, according to Heavy ages
the manner in which stimulus-response bonds Of man’s inhumanity
are established. Prejudices, ideologies, religious To man,
dogmas, patriotic emotions, as well as the more Are ending
ephemeral waves of fashion, glamour, etc., are As heart-mind union
all examples of mass-mind conditioning. Sealed by Soul fusion
The relationship between individual con­ Is externalized . . .”
 Actualism [ 147 ]

Destructive behavior and thinking are due to ing psychic conflicts, ambivalent emotions, con­
inversions of the flow of higher energies as fusion, and self-hatred; projected outward, they
they enter into image-deviated personality sys­ obstruct relations with others, even ones under­
tems. The inversions are possible because these taken with the best of intentions.
systems have been given free will. “The energy of wisdom inverts to fear and
“The false-to-fact designs that deviate outer flight in separation from Actual Self. This basic
expression at every level of consciousness are due fear becomes projected outward and generalized
to numerous causes that have arisen out of the in the desire to separate from this or that person
free will, that each creator gives to his person­ or people in general or certain kinds of people.
ality systems. Free will is required for lesson- This is the distance-creating, detached, view­
learning along the earth evolutionary path. The point of the intellectual.”
calculated risk is that free will may be inverted The inversion of wisdom to fear-separation is
to counter-will. Inversion of the great good symbolized in the myth of the fall from Eden.
will, which is higher will, produces irritability, Having eaten of the fruit of the Tree of the
ill-will, anger, rage-fight and exploitation. Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve
“In social relationships inverted higher will allowed the wisdom to invert to a sense of
manifests as the abuse of power, the exploitation separateness. Separated from the Creator-God
, of those who have not developed, and do not yet within (“the Lord in the Garden”), they experi­
have the use of their own inner power. History enced a fall from unity, from the Eden con­
past and present illustrates these tendencies in sciousness of only the good. Blaming the serpent,
human relations, whether under the so-called the power of generation, is a rationalization im­
divine right of kings or emperors and their posed after the fact on the basic energy inversion.
aristocracies, or under elected officials and their “The subtle factor in all inverted will, love,
bureaucracies.” wisdom and other deviations from actual design,
On the individual level, inverted higher will is the capacity of the ‘desire-mind*, the image-
manifests itself as the punitive Freudian super­ dominated intellect, to find a rationale that
ego, the rage and ill-will channeled by sets of supports the irrationality of counter-will as rage-
images, usually derived from early parental in­ fight, of counter-love as hate-kill, and the fool­
fluences, toward the structures and functions of ishness of counter-wisdom as fear-flight.”
the body and personality that don’t meet the per­ Most often, it is only these rationalizations of
fectionist demands of this superego. which we are aware, not the subtle inversions,
Besides higher will, the energy of love and the which underlie them. So we find ourselves say­
energy of wisdom are also inverted by false-to- ing or thinking “he shouldn’t have done that,” or
fact designs and images. “Love, the great power “why don’t they cut their hair,” or “that was a
to constructively organize, harmonize and unify, mean thing to say,” etc., not realizing that these
is inverted to dislike, intolerance and even to the are surface rationalizations of our own underly­
complete inversion expressed as hate-kill; herein ing emotional response which has already occur­
lies the formidable power to disorganize, dis­ red. “I can’t stand that (thing, behavior, per­
harmonize, disunity, and finally to destroy.” son)” is a statement of inversion: the person
On the individual level, inversions of the love literally cannot stand upright in wisdom or love
energy between human level of consciousness, in the face of that situation. Fie is then “hung
body level of consciousness, and organ level of up” by his images; like the Hanged Man of the
consciousness lead to pain and ultimately disease Tarot, his light has become inverted.
as the structures and functions are subjected to Martin Luther called reason a “whore” when
dislike and hatred instead of the organizing he recognized this rationalizing tendency of the
power of love. Inversions of love between mind dominated by image-inversions. Esoteric
human, perceptual, emotional, and mental levels psychology refers to it as “desire-mind.” She
of consciousness are experienced as disorganiz­ will “lie” with any images—the idealized (called
[ 148 ] Maps of Consciousness

good), the hated (called bad) and the worth­ images and egos. We are not only in a labyrinth,
less (called blah), and any combinations of but in a labyrinth that is constantly changing its
them. Every criminal has a rationalization for pattern and coordinates.
his act (“he deserved to die, anyway”). The most The way out of this metamorphous labyrinth is
impeccable logic is often found among lunatics: formulated in Actualism’s first law of energy,
a psychiatrist friend recalls asking a female which states that “Thought directs energy.” By
inmate why she was repeatedly bending down thinking, then letting, then observing, we can di­
to the ground in a jerky motion and picking up rect light-energy and focus it wherever needed,
worms. The answer came, with regal dignity— so that, more and more, we can operate from
“I’m the queen of the birds.” center, within, instead of reacting to external im­
Until and unless the random, image-triggered, age stimulation.
stimulus-response associated “fluctuations of “We gradually learn, as we take these steps,
mind-stuff” give way to the inner direction of to channel, direct, focus, concentrate energy
Actual Self, our minds will continue to land us, flow into and throughout our own energy sys­
in consciousness and in body, in the strangest tems, then to exterior energy systems. This
places. According to the second law of energy, as starts the awakening process—awakening the
formulated in Actualism, “Energy follows created energy systems to the creator within
thought.” So we react, mentally, emotionallv, them—the teacher-knower within, the physician
perceptually, physically, and with our organs and within, etc.—all of the many aspects of the
cells, as we follow the polymorphous, perverse, creator.”
promiscuous wanderings of desire-mind intellect. The process of bringing light-fire into the
The situation here is not unlike a bus in which obscured and obstructed energy systems of the
different passengers are constantly competing body and personality is of necessity a gradual,
and scheming to take over control of the driver’s step-by-step procedure in which one learns to
seat, and when they do, they take the whole bus channel and direct the high-frequency energy
and all the other passengers on their trip. For with increasing capacity. Acceptance of the light
example, someone makes a contemptuous remark on one level of consciousness is often accom­
to us: this is the cue for a hated or worthless panied by resistance on another. Gradually, each
image to take over the driver’s position. Egos at level, each energy system awakens to the pres­
every level of consciousness go on the trip of ence of Actual Self within and then becomes
rage or rejection, directed at the other and/ capable of shifting from image-dominated func­
or at self. The heart beats violently, the cells tioning to functioning by inner direction.
shiver in fear, the other is perceived as mean In the literature of spiritual and mystical phi­
or stupid, etc.; and whatever trip the bus was losophy there is a misleading concept of sudden
on before is, of course, completely disrupted illumination, as if we change in a flash from
while all systems go on this detour. functioning as a merely mortal, human person­
Alternatively, the sight of a well-shaped breast ality to functioning as an immortal God-child.
may be the cue for an idealized lover image to Seekers are conditioned to expect sudden satori
take control of the whole organization, and send or mystical revelation, not realizing that in the
it spinning off on a wild, careening, imaged sex­ reported instances of such sudden illuminations
ual-romantic adventure, with desire-mind schem­ extensive preparation and training preceded the
ing how to convert this image to reality, and breakthrough. This myth gained in popularity
reacting with emotional (and organic and cellu­ with the advent of psychedelics. On several oc­
lar) frustration at exterior and interior barriers. casions I have embarked on a trip with a
Needless to say, the situation becomes almost kind of “make or break” attitude, determined to
hopelessly complex and dangerous when we con­ reach Buddhahood, fasting for days beforehand
sider that others are also acting and reacting as and taking a double dose, to make sure; only to
uncoordinated, uncentered collections of chaotic find that unless the capacity is increased, the
 Actualism [ 149 ]

systems are not capable of accepting or sustain­ money lenders out of the temple has a similar
ing the increased high-frequency energy charge symbolic import: the body, the temple of the
temporarily induced by the drug. Creator-God, has become a market place for
Which is not to say breakthroughs do not usury and barter, for the external-materially
occur. The process is like the melting of ice on a oriented interests of personality egos, until the
river. The gradual increase of heat, what the Christ-light drives them out. These images are
alchemists called “gentle cooking,” loosens the like tenants we once let into our house, who now
rigidified, frozen crystallizations of energy. They refuse to leave. They assert, falsely, that they are
melt slowly, though sometimes major chunks may we: in other words we have given them identity.
suddenly break off, greatly increasing the How I remember, not long after beginning the
of energy. stud)' of this form of yoga, a dream in which a
The method of Agni Yoga, as taught in Actual- city was overhung with dark, billowing, noxious
ism, may be compared with most other forms of clouds. In the sky was a large, powerful, eve-
yoga as laser light compares with ordinary light. shaped disc of golden light shining through the
Ordinary light, and the usual technique of dark clouds. People in the streets below were
psychic focussing, diminishes rapidly in intensity scurrying in fear of the light. Only much later
as it fans out from the point of concentration. did I comprehend the meaning of this dream:
Laser light, which is single frequency rather than the scurrying people are the images in which we
mixed, can be focussed with great intensity on have placed identity which cannot stay in the
a very small point. The inner fire, of different light of the knowing “I”.
frequencies according to purpose and need, can With light-fire the imprints and programs,
be similarly sharply forcussed on a specific which are not according to actual design are
block to energy flow on any given level of con­ stripped away and eliminated. But this is not a
sciousness. False-to-fact images and designs can rejection or separative procedure: in fact, what­
be dislodged from structures with a laserlike ever. is found unacceptable to self first has to be
beam of energy. This is the esoteric significance accepted, in order, second, to be transmuted or
of the lightning bolt of Zeus-Jupiter, or of eliminated with light. To reject or separate one­
Thor in Nordic mythology. The Immortal One self from the images merely gives them increased
throws off the images that have taken possession power and recognition. This is why defense
of the structures and functions of the personality mechanisms, which start as a protective ma­
systems. neuver, so often end up destructive in effect.
Suppression, repression, projection, denial, etc.,
“Hurling increase the energy of the separated component
Brilliant javelins that is being suppressed, repressed, etc.
Of Love In Actualism, we begin by accepting whatever
And Light is found. Since we proceed in a step-by-step
Into manner we find only that which we have the
The deepest power to handle. At the same time, we abstract
Dark place, identity more and more from the false images in
To lift which it has been bound, and shift it to Actual
The splintered parts Self. Where the personality may feel it cant
Of lonely ones —” handle the factors against which defenses have
been built up, such as intense rage or fear,
The Tarot card called The Lightning-Struck the Immortal Self can handle them, namely with
Tower depicts the laser light of Jupiter Fulmi- the transforming power of light-fire.
nans striking the structure and throwing off the It is a widespread misconception among both
false images of self which fall like dead men Western and Eastern sensitives, seekers on the
from the tower. The story of Jesus driving the evolutionary path, that spiritual work involves
[ 150 ] Maps of Consciousness

giving up pleasure and joy, and denying the “Having given free will to his prodigal-crea­
body through fasts and special diets, as well as tion, the creator now has the infinite and eternal
abstinence and continence. This has been part of joy of finding the creation returning to the cre­
the mass-mind programming inculcated by both ator of its own free will, not to be destroyed
occidental and oriental asceticism for centuries. nor punished, as overlaid false-to-fact designs
Christ himself was quite explicit on this point: portray, but to be lifted up into creative ex­
“It is not what you put in your mouth that de­ pression of a joyous order and magnitude all too
files you, it is what comes out.” This may be seldom known on this planet—that which is the
extended: it is not what wc eat, or experience, heritage and birth-right of all upon this planet.”
that causes us to become bound in illusory
image entrapments; it is the manner in which Basic to the understanding of the human or­
experiences (and food) are assimilated and ganism as a microcosmic energy-transforming
transformed, and the quality of what we express system is the perception and awareness of
outwardly, in our microcosmos and in relations polarity. We have seen how in Chinese Taoism,
to others. “By their fruits ye shall know them”— yang, the creative, the male, heaven, flows down­
the fruits they bring forth, not those they take in. ward; and yin, the receptive, the female, earth,
Actualism distinguishes three kinds of food, flows upward. In the Hindu Tantras we have the
three modalities of input into the human energy energy currents ida and pingald, or Siva and
systems. Third-order food is the physical matter, Sakti, on the right and left side of the body
in solid, liquid, and gaseous form, that we eat, respectively. In alchemy also, Sol, the King,
drink, and breathe. Its quality and purity is on the right, and Luna, the Queen, on the left,
important, but overruled by the quality and together accomplish the transmutation of sub­
purity of second-order food, which is the psycho­ stance in the hermetic vessel.
logical attitudes, thought, feelings, and percep­ In Actualism it is taught that the body and its
tions (both our own and those of others) we let organizing field, or rather all the bodies and
pass into and flow through our systems. This, in their fields at different levels of consciousness,
turn, is secondary to the prime-order food—the are polarized dynamic-male on the right and
life-light energies we channel. In other words, magnetic-female on the left. The right is our
any experience, and any food, can be assimilated active hand, controlled by the left cerebral hemi­
and either digested or eliminated, if it is accepted sphere. Recent neurological work by Penfield
with light-fire. and Sperry has confirmed that the two halves of
So, far from requiring a deprivation of pleasure the brain mediate two quite distinguishable types
or joy, the process of removing obstructions to of consciousness, which under certain conditions
energy flow on the different levels of conscious­ can become separated or dissociated.3
ness actually brings about greater and greater The notion that man has an organizing field is
joy as communication within the microcosmos also not unknown to exoteric science. In the
and communication with the external environ­ 1930s Burr and Northrop at Yale, and later,
ments and other persons becomes increasingly Becker and associates at Syracuse, did pioneer­
free. Actualism’s third law of energy states that ing research demonstrating the existence of
“Obstructions to energy flow cause discomfort, if fields in plants, animals, and men, and their
mild, or pain and dis-ease, if strong.” importance in processes of growth and vitality.■'
As obstructions are washed out, increasing More recently Karagulla has assembled large
inner unity allows increasing degrees of unity numbers of observations on the interpenetrating
with others. Communication between personal­ fields of the human being that can be seen and
ities horizontally then gives way more and more described by sensitives and clairvoyants.5
to communion—the experienced vertical unity of In addition to the right-left polarization, man’s
immortal God-children working in peaceful joy organizing field is also polarized dynamic-front
together to organize, harmonize, and unify at all and magnetic-back. We move forward and
levels of manifestation. outward into the world, and take on loads and
 Actualism [ 151 ]

burdens on our backs. This is the basis for such man’s dynamic and the woman’s magnetic) can
colloquial expressions as “get off my back," or only be short-lived because sooner or later the
“pain in the neck," or “chip on his shoulder.” unexpressed halves of the two natures will feel
The early anatomists acted with intuitive ac­ discontent and frustration. Since our condition­
curacy in naming the topmost vertebra, which ing is always toward externals, the person will
supports the head, the Atlas. Like the old Titan then seek another external person to whom he or
of that name, we carry the world on our shoul­ she is able to relate in a more satisfying way.
ders, the imaged world our minds have created Since the reason for the one-sided relationship
and given the weight of reality. is nonacceptance of one or another side of one’s
Dynamic, male energy flows downward and own nature, the attempt to find a fully satisfying
outward, expressing through function. Magnetic, interrelation, imbalanced in this way, is bound
female energy flows inward and upward, ex­ to fail again.
pressing through structure. “Downward” and Until and unless the two sides are balanced
“upward” refer here to differences in vibratory within the nature, the image obstructions will
rate, not spatial directions. In the 1 Ching this is constantly be projected outward onto the other
spoken of as the downward flowing of yang and block the renewed attempts to relate to
energy, from heaven (within); and the upward another. Relating by the false images as to what
movement of yin energy, from earth (without). a man is or what a woman is will inevitably lead
Structure is magnetic to function, accepts and to an inversion of love as soon as the chosen
receives function moving in and through it; external man or woman fails to live up to the
function is supported by, “backed up” by, struc­ idealized expectations and images we have pro­
ture. jected into the relationship. This is why Gurd-
jieff stated that “emotional love always turns into
“Man its opposite.” If two people are both balanced
Moving outward - and equally expressing their dynamic and mag­
Man netic nature, they can relate and communicate
Moving inward - on a free exchange-communication, a reciprocal
Receiving, giving and receiving genuinely fulfilling to both
Giving, sides.
Giving-receiving— If one person is balanced and the other not,
Till all creation the former can switch polarity according to the
Creatively expresses need of the situation. A therapist, or teacher, for
The noble example, has to be able to switch polarity with
Image and Likeness' patient or student, in order to permit the rela­
Of the giving-receiving tionship to develop in a satisfactory way. It is
Father-Mother-Creator-God.” not at all recognized in contemporary schools of
psychiatry or psychotherapy that the therapist,
The process of inner unification involves, who goes magnetic to the patient, in listening to
among other aspects, the balancing and harmon­ and trying to understand and empathize with his
izing of dynamic and magnetic energies between problems is actually acting as a psychic garbage
structure and function, right and left, front and collector. Unless he has some way of clearing his
back, higher and lower, within the microcosmos system of the loads he takes on, the therapist’s
and on each level of consciousness. Only as these physical instrument and personality systems will
polarities are balanced and harmonized within, become loaded down with uncommonly heavy,
at least to some extent, is it possible to relate to discomforting and destructive images. This may
others in a fully satisfying way. very well be the reason for the abnormally high
Since everyone, man or woman, has both suicide rate among psychiatrists, which is four to
aspects, a relationship predominantly based on a six times the rate for comparable age groups.
linkage of only one polarity (most usually the Furthermore, simply allowing the patient to
[ 152 ] Maps of Consciousness

“unload” on the therapist does not help the other is operating under similar mechanisms,
former any more than the latter if the patient we have the uncanny, unaware, matching of
does not learn how to free himself from his own self-defeating images. The masochistic woman
loads, or how to avoid taking them on again. attracts the sadistic male; the impotent man
This is the difference referred to in the old Zen attracts the castrating woman. And these are
saying: “He who gives a man a loaf of bread only extremes of ubiquitous patterns. Non­
feeds him for a day. He who teaches him how to physical “crimes of passion” are committed every
fish feeds him for a lifetime.” day.
Freud discovered that patients project images Idealized images are projected as much as un­
derived from past relationships onto the ther­ acceptable images. When these shatter the per­
apist, and named this the “transference.” The son feels betrayed, as if “part of myself” had
transference and projection phenomenon how­ been taken away; and it has, but only because
ever is not restricted to therapeutic relationships, that part of myself, that image of self, was
but occurs in all relationships to a greater or given to the other in the first place.
lesser degree. Who has not had the experience of looking
What is commonly called “falling in love” is a at the shattered fragments of a love relationship,
sudden polarization on the chemical-biological like a child looking with supreme surprise at
level, accompanied by mutually matching ideal­ the empty place in his hands where a prettv
ized images. The very use of the term “falling” bubble was just before? And who has not reacted
(rather than “rising into love”) indicates that with hurt and anger and blame as the beautiful
the evolutionary species-preservation force is picture one tried to grasp shattered on the rock
involved here; truly, the lovers say: “This thing of fact? And do you remember that moment of
is bigger than both of us.” Idealized images of feeling ridiculous when you both realized that
self are projected out onto the other—which is the illusion you were both chasing had caught
why lovers look endlessly into each other’s eyes you both in its web?
and request to be loved “as I love you.” The Greeks celebrated this human frailty in
After a time, idealized images give way to the story of Ares and Aphrodite. Ares, the god of
hated images as the external partner is unable war. lay with Aphrodite, the goddess of love and
to meet the criteria set up. Mutual adoration, beauty. But her husband, the lame smith of the
which was self-adoration, then gives way to gods, Hephaistos, found them in bed, and in an
mutual recrimination, which is self-recrimination. instant fashioned a golden, gossamer-thin, but
Sometimes one or the other or both will attempt very strong net, which he cast over them. He
to make themselves over in the image of the then invited the remaining Immortals who came
other, a misguided attempt doomed to failure and laughed uproariously at the couple, as they
since an idealized image can never be satisfied, lay trapped in the bed of imaged desire.
either by oneself or far less by another. Which We speak of being “involved” with another
is not to say that relationships that are in some and do not realize just how specific this involve­
ways satisfying cannot be established, or even ment is. If our own magnetic and dvnamic polar­
last for considerable time, as long as the images ities are not balanced and centered with respect
and polarities continue to match. to each other, we are constantly looking toward
Lovers have the ability to wound each other an external person to complete us, make us feel
and to be vulnerable because they have given whole. The ties thus established will often re­
each other the weapons. This vulnerability, often main long after the relationship has ceased on
idealized as “openness,” is actually the result of the outer plane. This gives rise to the well-known
mutual projection. We reject in ourselves what feeling that there are “ghosts” from past relation­
we find painfully unacceptable, and project it ships in a present one.
outward onto the other. Thus we give to the other One time, while working with a certain Agni
the ability to be a constant irritant and reminder Yoga technique, I became aware of how my
of that painful aspect of ourselves. Since the dynamic was still involved in the magnetic of
 Actualism [ 153 ]

someone who had been my mate quite a long for one aspect of cerebral functioning, so film is
time ago. As I merged with the Immortal of a good analogy for image-dominated perceptual
that one, this fragment was released and re­ processes. Our media are extensions of our
turned to fill my own magnetic. As I did the senses, as McLuhan has pointed out.) We have a
same with every other I had ever related to, “projection beam,” in our head, that passes
tremendous surges of energy returned into my through a set of images programmed into our
own systems and fields. Analogous processes “projector,” and thus casts replicas of these im­
take place on the magnetic aspect, which tends ages, large as life, onto the screen of external
to become filled with external dynamics of those reality. We sit in the movie house of our minds,
we have loved under the influence of possessive like the prisoners in Plato’s cave, suffering and
images. When freed of images, magnetic and rejoicing with the phantasms on the screen, for­
dynamic polar aspects relate to those of another getting that we ourselves have within us both the
in perfect giving-receiving reciprocal exchange, light-source and the superimposed images.
accepting and letting flow and returning and ful­ And if we don’t like those repetitive, closed-
filling, without holding or obstructing. loop melodramas, with those familiar actors and
actresses always “playing themselves,” we have
“With the potential ability to replace the film of images
inner freedom with another, more productive and with a hap­
from the snare pier ending. This is essentially what hypnosis,
of image-induced behavior therapy, and most psychotherapy at­
illusion, delusion tempts to do. Or better yet, we can remove the
and obsession, — film of images that veil clear perceiving, so that
two or more instead of beaming only through preselected
can merge programs, we let the radiant light shine on what
and flow actually is. This is the goal of the yoga of light,
into as taught in Actualism.
the The beam is not only a projection beam, but
Eternal Sea simultaneously a radar tracking beam. It keeps
of the eyes tracking and seeing what we most
Love’s fear (in the case of hated images) and most de­
Infinity, sire (in the case of idealized images). The
with puritan (and the lecher) see rampant sex; the
myriad millions timid man (and the bully) see violence every­
expressing where. It was this projection and tracking beam
Love and Life that Jesus referred to when he counselled his
in ceaseless disciples to remove the beam in their own eyes be­
and joyously fore attempting to discern the mote in another’s.
changing As we abstract identity from images, we take
expressions more and more of the power out of them. It is
of because we have identity in them that we react
rhythm as though they were fact, even though the facts
color are quite contrary. Desdemona’s complete in­
and tone.” nocence did not diminish Othello’s jealousy one
bit; because he was responding to prepro­
grammed images, not fact. In most situations,
where there is a kernel of truth in the false
The ubiquitous mechanism of projection can image, it is that much harder to recognize that
well be compared to the projection of images in our emotional reaction is still to the imaged,
a film. (Just as the computer is a good analogy not the actual, situation.
[ 154 ] Maps of Consciousness

As the power is taken out of the images, more host of debilitating images that assert the super­
and more the competitiveness within our nature, iority of one aspect of the nature over another,
and with others outside, is replaced with co­ and teachings that encourage one at the expense
operation based on the experienced fact of unity. of another. We do not need to condemn feelings
The heart, the gut, and the brain are in fact for being illogical; or assert that “gut reactions”
united, though superimposed designs would are more real than thoughtful ones; or argue
have it otherwise—leading to conflict, discomfort, whether intuition is better than reason; or spon­
tension, confusion, worry, etc. When they are taneous response better than planning. Each has
able to experience their unity they can function its place and function.
each according to its special unique way. Simi­ Under the divide-and-rule philosophy brought
larly, the experience of unity with others, which about by separative images we find the tragi­
can only follow the experience of unity within comic scene of rational men and women going
ourselves, leads to a synthesizing merging which to encounter groups to learn to recognize feel­
does not, contrary to popular images, obliterate ings or to sensory awareness groups to become
or submerge the individual, but rather permits acquainted with bodily sensations. Or we have
us to express our actual indivisible nature, freed devotional-emotional cults both Eastern and
from the need to compete, win approval, feel Western that seek to become lost in rapturous
superior (or inferior), etc. feelings, or unquestioning faith, or ecstatic ex­
Unity-mergence has two effects: first, what periences. Or we have the cyberneticists, auto-
Buckminster Fuller and others have referred to hvpnotists, scientologists, general semanticists,
as synergy—Cue power of the whole which ex­ and others who attempt to “clear” thinking, or to
ceeds the summated power of the parts (as the eliminate confusion, by disconnecting the think­
strength of an alloy exceeds the sum of the ing processes from the emotional processes.
strengths of the component metals); and second, The separative and obstructive nature of im­
what might be called potentiation, or empower­ ages and preprogrammed designs is extremely
ing—the power of each individual component is evident in experiences induced by psychedelic
augmented by the power of the unified whole drugs. In these experiences one’s awareness and
(as the power of a representative or ambassador perception of actual structure and function is
is augmented by the power of the group to amplified and false-to-fact, superimposed images
which he belongs). are also amplified. An example of the former is
These principles have direct relevance to the that a person may frequently perceive that he
work of inner transformation that is the essence has a field-structure that extends for several feet
of yoga. As conflicting images and false designs beyond the boundaries of his physical body. An
are burned away, the increasing experiencing of example of the latter is that a person may, in
unity' allows for greater and greater synergistic looking at another’s face, literally see the images
channeling of energy. It also allows each part- of that person (both his own and the other’s)
hand, or eve, or brain, or heart, or voice, or mem­ peeling off like so many masks. Psychedelic sub­
ber of a group—to express this unity with po­ stances are nonselective awareness amplifiers.
tentiated creative energy, in full awareness of its To actually see the multiform plastic shapes in
uniqueness and appreciation of every other’s which personality-egos cloak themselves gives
uniqueness. This is no abstract theory but an ex­ valuable pre-views of a state of image-free per­
perimentally verifiable fact. The difference be­ ception. However, one needs the tools of light-
tween the hand of a mediocre painter and the fire to consume the images, otherwise the
hand of a Leonardo lies in the internal relation­ experience will be temporary and limited to the
ships that have been established, the degree of drug state.
creative fusion the hand expresses. Gurdjieff referred to these imaged delusions
Psychophysical synergy and potentiation, un­ as “egoplastikoori,” and his strategy consisted in
derstood and practiced, make obsolete a whole awakening the observing “I,” so that by becoming
 Actualism [ 155 ]

aware of these false, automatically programmed age of 125. But the general life span of man is
images a person could re-member himself, i.e., about one-half what it could be; and, except in
become re-united to his Actual Self. Since Gurd- childhood, we do not have even the vitality of
jieff was working primarily with second-order our friends in the animal kingdom.
factors (ideas, feelings, and perceptions gener­ The relationship between the animal and
ated by him in his unique, provocative Sttfi- human levels of consciousness within man is
style), the method was very much dependent on indeed much obstructed with false images of
his own presence to provide the impetus to separateness and superiority on the part of the
awaken the observer within. human, and corresponding resistance and hatred
The observer function is a basic necessity in on the part of the animal, leading to extremes of
yogic work. In Agni Yoga a person learns by repression and compensating idealization. The
observing the effects of light-energies of differ­ ecological disaster brewing on the planet, the
ent qualities, at first on the physical level of total lack of communication between our species
consciousness, and gradually on the higher and and the species of animals and plants whose life
lower frequency levels also. cycles we ignorantly and ruthlessly destroy,
To attain inner wholeness it is necessary to only outwardly mirrors the chaotic relationship
accept all structures and functions at every level that exists within.
of consciousness and to abstract identity from Modern neurological researches have con­
those image-factors that cause the illusory feel­ firmed what esoteric philosophy has long taught:
ing or perception of separation, superiority, or that man has not one brain, but three, super­
worthlessness. From communication we move to imposed one upon the other, following the se­
cooperation and finally to communion as the quence of phylogenetic evolution. The reptile
various structures and functions of each level brain, located in the brain stem, extending up­
of consciousness come to experience the unity ward from the spinal cord; the mammal brain,
they have in the immortal presence of the Actual located above and behind the brain stem;
Self which created them. and the primate/human brain, folding around,
“Upon reaching the goal of wholeness within, above, and to the front of the other two.8 Our
one is capable of knowing and carrying out the reptilian and mammalian brains mediate our ani­
purpose for which he entered in as a God-Child mal heritage. Coded into the consciousness of our
upon the creative venture of the Father-Mother- organs and cells (via DNA and RNA molecular
Creator-God of this macrocosmos.” configurations) is the evolutionary history of our
species. Between conception and birth we re­
The rarity of this condition of wholeness and capitulate tli is billion-vear-old evolutionary
fulfillment of evolutionary purpose, and the con­ “tail,” telescoped into a flash of nine months.
sequent maleficent effects upon the human con­ Consciousness at the animal or creature-body
dition on this planet under image government, level, mammalian and reptilian, and at the organ
can be seen by noting the life span of creatures. and the cell levels, can be experienced in yoga,
In general, life span appears to be about seven or in alterations of consciousness induced by psy­
times the number of years to maturity. Thus, ani­ chedelic drugs or otherwise. With the yoga of
mals that take two years to mature, live to about light-fire it is also possible to bring light into
fourteen, and so on. According to this generaliza­ these levels and to increase the communication
tion the human being should naturally live to between them. It is lack of communication, in­
about 140-150 years. In ancient times such an version of wisdom, that causes the human to fear
age, and much greater ones, were not uncommon, our (and others’) animal passions or to disap­
to judge by the legends of the patriarchs. Even prove of sensuality. Conversely, it causes the
in our time, certain Himalayan tribes, living animal to mistrust the dictates of human reason,
under exceptionally favorable circumstances, and to resent the imposition of the conditioning
will not infrequently have persons who reach the we call civilization. Freud, in true Taurean
 Urobouros. “This surely is a
great miracle—that in a
venomous dragon there
should be the great medi­
cine.”

fashion, lamented this situation in his book human head and inscrutable gaze. With the.
Civilization and its Discontents. This is also the awakening energy of light-fire this immobilized
origin of the idealized image of “divine dis­ creature will experience the divinity within, will
content”; and the worthless image of “the naked crawl, then walk, and finally fly.
ape. )) According to the teaching of Actualism, it is
It is not the denial, but the transmutation, the human or matrix body that is referred to in
based on acceptance and communication and esoteric philosophy as the* “etheric double,” and
synergy, of the evolutionary tail, which leads to that separates from the creature body in most
the inner wholeness for which we are actually recorded instances of out-of-the-body travel, and
designed. In hermetic philosophy and alchemy, so-called astral projection. In cases of sudden or
this fusion of energies was often symbolized by violent death, when the personality is unaware
the urobouros serpent swallowing its own tail. that it has died, this human body may stay-
The human and animal levels of consciousness earth-bound for some time, and become visible
are close, but not identical; like a matrix to a under certain conditions as a “ghost.”
mould. The subtle and elusive interblending The riddle which the Sphinx posed to all
involved here was symbolized by a very ancient, travelers was: “What has four legs in the begin­
unknown, pre-Egyptian civilization in the mys­ ning, two in the middle, and three at the end?”
terious figure of the Sphinx: the feline body with Exoterically this riddle was reputedly solved bv
 Actualism [ 157 ]

Oedipus when he stated that it referred to man ence of the Immortal One within so that they can
as an infant, man in maturity, and man with a begin to move and creatively express the nature
supporting stick in old age. The actual meaning and purposes of Actual Self on the evolutionary
however can be taken to point to man’s four- path.
footed mammalian body consciousness, his two- In oriental art, the awakened many bodies of
legged human body consciousness, and his man as a cosmic, divine being were symbolized
androgynous, bipolar bodies with central vertical in the statues of deities with many arms and
axis. many heads, one on top of the other. This is a
This is a sequential unfolding of evolutionary three-dimensional image of a multidimensional
process that is played out in the history of our fact: the heads are actually higher in frequency
species on the planet (phylogenesis), and in the rate rather than in space. By aligning and
embryonic history of each individual (onto­ balancing the bodies with respect to the com­
genesis); and finally, in the expanding awareness mon central vertical axis we decrease the
brought about by the yogic work of transforma­ resistance and increase the capacity of the struc­
tion by fire. tures and functions to channel energy. Man is
a two-way transformer of energy: lower fre­
“The widening quency energies, imprinted with our personal,
Boundaries collective, and evolutionary past, are transmuted
Of evolutionary process and raised in frequency; higher frequency,
Are guide lines cosmic energies are stepped down in frequency
Holding firm and brought from their inner source into objec­
God-Child progress tive manifestation and creative expression in the
From point of light outer world.
To brightening star The centers along the vertical axis, known in
To Radiant Sun of Manifestation.” India as cakras, are focal points for the processes
of accumulation and distribution of energies on
The integration of the human level of con­ the various levels of consciousness. Contrary to
sciousness, the human body, with the lower popular misinterpretations of yogic teachings,
frequency levels—the animal, organ, and cell—is these centers are not opened by the teacher or
one aspect of the work of inner unification. any external agency. More like flowers, they open
Another is increased communication, coopera­ from within, when the veils and crusts of images
tion, and communion with the higher-frequency obstructing them have been removed, so that, like
levels or lesser density bodies: the perceptual flowers, they can receive light from above and
(sometimes called “lower astral”), the emotional nourishment from below. The literature is full
(sometimes called “astral”), and the mental. of warnings against attempting to open the
These are literally subtler bodies that can he cakras prematurely. If opened without prior
experienced as interpenetrating and extending purification and balancing they tend to freeze
beyond and coaxial with the physical time-space on a particular frequency band. They would then
body. be like a radio we can’t turn off; which may ac­
In our normal condition these bodies are all so count for some of the “voices” of the psychotic.
heavily imprinted and programmed with images In our normal condition, the centers are
and false-to-fact designs that they are effectively crowded and encrusted with myriad images and
immobilized. At night, when the creature body false-to-fact designs that reduce their potentially
sleeps, the others are slightly more active—which powerful functioning to a bare minimum. Adepts
activitv, translated bv the svmbolic machinery of of ancient times who encoded their teachings in
the brain-mind, we register as dreams. The chan­ symbols, legends, and fairy tales, invented the
neling of energies into these systems induces story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to
them to gradually awaken to the fact of the pres­ express this situation. Snow White is the human
[ 158 ] Maps of Consciousness

form, most beautiful in nature but trapped in a Objective consciousness is possible only when
poisoned sleep by the machinations of the one has learned not to remain in any fixed po­
Wicked Queen, who is hung up in external sitions, either physical, perceptual, emotional, or
images of beauty (“Mirror, mirror on the wall, mental. The Buddha, when asked what opinion
who’s the fairest of them all?”). So Snow White he held on the afterlife, said he held no opinions;
has to live in a house (body) with Seven Dwarfs, since to hold means to place identity in tempo­
the seven dwarfed centers of the body. Finally, rary, evanescent energy packets in the form of
she is awakened from her poisoned sleep by the images or concepts. Whereas the actual essence-
kiss of the Prince, the immortal Actual Self. fact, the philosophers stone, can only be experi­
enced and known, intemallv or externally, when
“Personality-Self all “holding forces” (samskdras in Hindu psy­
Sealed chology, cathexes in Freudian) are removed and
Within the sepulcher one can “stand firmly on a moving point” of
Of “Self’’-denial, totally Quid attitude and perspective, mentally,
Becomes separated emotionally, perceptually, and behaviorally.
From These statements are not presented as the
The gift of Beauty, truth; no claim is made to their acceptance.
Until “I” Presence They are theorems, indications, and can only be
Breaks the seal, verified and validated, by anyone who chooses
Flooding the form to do so, in the actual practice that yields the
With vibrant beauty perception, the knowing and the knowing that
And looks with joy one knows.
Upon the world The practice of the method leading to vali­
Of the Beloved . . .” dation through experience is the primary safe­
guard against inversion and deviation of the
As long as our personality systems are con­ teaching. All teachings that have appeared in
ditioned to react to externals, according to stimu­ the past concerning man’s inherent divine poten­
lus-response principles of conditioning, instead of tial and evolutionary possibilities have suffered
being able to respond to inner direction, fixed deviation because followers have worshipped
attitudes, feelings, and perceptions will continue the external teacher-personality instead of find­
to crystallize at the different levels of conscious­ ing the kingdom of heaven within. It is much
ness, obstructing the free flow of energy. The harder to break through the resistances to inner
task of cleaning the structures seems impossibly unification than it is to achieve a semblance of
overwhelming. It was this situation that the peace and harmony by becoming a follower of a
Greek sages described in the story of the fifth teacher. The same holds true for man-woman
labor of Hercules. Hercules was an initiate whose relationships: it is relatively easy to relate one’s
twelve labors represent twelve basic steps on the magnetic or dynamic nature to an external dy­
path. His fifth assignment was to clean the stables namic or magnetic, on one level or another.
of the ten thousand horses of King Augeas. As Paradoxically, much greater resistance is en­
soon as one part was cleaned another would be countered when one attempts to fuse them
dirtied. It was impossible to do in a piecemeal within.
fashion. The solution was to rechannel two rivers “To those who would worship the personality
through the stables, thus keeping them constantly of a teacher, rather than the truths taught by
cleaned. By channeling the energy sources po­ the teacher, it must be said that such worship
tential in everyone so that they are constantly brings about the counter-love of the Christ love,
pouring through all structures and functions, we the counter-wisdom of the Buddha wisdom, the
can maintain an unobstructed instrument, as im­ counter-will of the good will of all great ones
ages coming from ourselves or from others are who come as way showers. The blind worship of
consumed in the burning-ground fires. these as personalities has set in motion ‘holy
 Actual-ism [ 159 ]

wars,’ crusades, tortures, oppression, martyrdom, body and field an internal shower of white light
etc., in the name of the personality of the energy that purifies and lightens. Again, think­
teacher, in direct opposition to the truths which ing, letting, and observing are sufficient.
they taught, inverting the light which they im­ Doing this preliminary exercise for just a few
planted in the earth of this planet. . . . minutes each day can already have a very pro­
“To avoid this dilemma in the new age, now nounced effect on your sense of well-being and
dawning, the responsibility will fall not on the ability to relate to internal or external situations.
personality systems of one person, but rather Following the third law, which states that
upon a group formation of highly trained and “Obstructions to energy flow cause discomfort,
well prepared personality-systems; each of if mild, or pain and dis-ease, if strong,” we can
whom has achieved a high degree of wholeness. focus the white light energy downpour in those
Having reached such a degree of wholeness areas of the body where discomfort, blockage,
within, free of superimposed designs that are or pain is experienced, letting these structures
false to actual design, this group can function awaken to the presence of light. Bringing light
under the greatest good will of higher will; the into the structures often makes us aware of dis­
great power of love to organize, harmonize and comfort or pain where there had not been any
unify microcosmically as it does macrocosmi- before. This is exactly analogous to the pain
cally; the brilliant illumination of the wisdom experienced when your leg, asleep because cut
light; the effulgent radiance of the full spectrum off from circulation, wakes up again as the cir­
of energies playing throughout each living culation is restored. Here we arc dealing with
temple—each new creature—each illumined crea­ what Taoists called “the circulation of the light.”
tion—and extending outward to all members of Another very useful exercise is to sit in the
each Kingdom of Life on planet Earth.” position described above but to place the hands
so that the right palm is on the solar plexus, the
left palm on the heart region, while the white
EXPERIENTIAL EXPERIMENTS
light is pouring down. The dynamic flowing
Agni Yoga, as taught in the School of Actual- through the right hand allows the solar plexus
ism, is not the adoption of physical postures as to tune in to its own higher energy sources in­
in Hatha Yoga, but rather the adoption of per­ stead of vibrating sympathetically to external
ceptual, emotional, mental attitudes and posi­ feeling states, as it tends to do especially
tions that facilitate the flowing of energy once strongly in sensitives. The magnetic energy flow­
the connection to the inner source has been es­ ing through the left hand induces organizing
tablished. The body is placed in such a way as and harmonizing of magnetic and dynamic in
to permit maximally free flow throughout all the heart-center of personal relationships. The
structures: sit on a chair, relaxed but with back combined effect of this mudra is a calming and
straight, legs uncrossed and comfortably apart, soothing of emotional or interpersonal turbu­
feet flat on the ground for “earthing,” hands on lence or anxiety.
legs.
The energy work is begun by thinking of a
point of white light (white being the synthesis
of all frequencies of light), located six inches
THE FOUR LAWS OF ENERGY ACCORDING
above the center of the head. Since the law is:
TO ACTUALISM
“Thought directs energy,” it is only necessary to
think of it, let it be, and observe it. Those with 1. Thought directs energy.
strong optical visualizing ability may see it, others 2. Energy follows thought.
may sense it or feel it. 3. Obstructions to energy flow cause discom­
Having made the contact by thinking, letting, fort, if mild, or pain and dis-ease, if strong.
and observing, think of the point of light as 4. Energy is concentrated where thought is
opening up and pouring down, giving the entire focussed.
[ 160 ] Maps of Consciousness

NOTES AND REFERENCES 3. Wilder Penfield, “Consciousness, Memory, and

Man’s Conditioned Reflexes,” On the Biology of Learn­
1. Unless otherwise noted the prose passages in quo- ing, ed. K. H. Pribram (New York: Harcourt, Brace &
tation marks are all from Russell Paul Schofield, “Trans- World, 1969); and Michael Gazzaniga, “The Split Brain
mutational Mergence as Taught in the School of Actual- in Man,” Scientific American, 27 (1967): 24-29.
ism,” and are reprinted by permission. Russell Schofield, 4. See Main Currents of Modern Thought (Septem­
is a teacher, writer, poet, and founder of the School of ber/October, 1962), a whole issue devoted to biological
Actualism. The subject of this chapter will be treated in field processes. Also see, R. O. Becker et al., “The Direct
more detail in a forthcoming collaborative book on Current Control System,” New York State Journal of
Actualism—“The Actual Design of Cosmic Man.” This Medicine (April 15, 1962); G. Stromberg, “The Autono­
will present the actual, inner meaning of myths, legends, mous Field,” Journal of the Franklin Institute, 239
sacred symbols, and writings in which have been de­ (1945): 27-40; G. P. Barnard and J. H. Stephenson,
lineated the steps along the evolutionary path to indi­ “Fresh Evidence for a Biophysical Field,” Main Currents
viduality and wholeness. of Modern Thought, 24, no. 5 (1968).
2. All verse quoted in this chapter is from Russell 5. Shafica Karagulla, Breakthrough into Creativity
Paul Schofield, Imprint Unmistakeahle, © Russell Scho­ (Los Angeles: DeVorss Press, 1969).
field (privately printed, Los Angeles, 1969), reprinted by 6. R. S. Buckley, “The Brain,” Minnesota Medicine,
permission. 50 (November, 1967).
 APPENDIX
Evolutionary gain can only be maintained for
TO RESOLVE THE REBELLION OF EACH NEW GENERA- the maximum progress of all humanity by lead­
tion against that which was established by pre­ ership in every area of human activity working
ceding generations—this is made possible by together for freedom from the subtle, insidious
eliminating image manipulation of behavior, forces of the counterevolutionary power of im­
which brings each new generation to establish ages that victimize everyone from within.
that which will in turn be rebelled against by This then is the basic freedom—freedom from
the next, over and over again, generation after that which grips and manipulates the behavior
generation, as imaged values shift without re­ of each human personality, from the most pow­
gard to actual values. “The sins of the fathers erful leaders to the hungry, unrepresented mil­
will be visited upon the children and childrens' lions in ignominious servitude.
children,” said the Biblical teacher, referring to Freedom, at all levels of consciousness, from
this process by which the evolutionary growth image-mechanism-manipulation.
and development of mankind is minimized as Freedom for every member of the human
the gains that each revolution seems to make at family to express his Actual Self creatively.
the time, are lost in the age old battle with the Freedom to relate to all other members of the
real enemy—the false-to-fact images that divide human family
and rule humanity. —without fear but with wisdom,
“Image government” controls all other govern­ —without rage-fight-violence but with good will,
ment because it works from within the con­ —without hate-kill-grief but with love-cherish-
sciousness of each individual. So subtle is this joy, that passes all understanding until this
force that those who find themselves in power freedom is won.
during and after a revolution seek to perpetuate
their personal advantage at the expense of fel­ This is the proud bright heritage of light-fire
low leaders and followers and the ideals for passing from generation to generation without
which they fought together. the slightest generation gap.

From “The Declaration of Actual

Independence”
by Russell Schofield
OCCULT

Six guides to
growth and
individuality
Down the ages, man has devised ways to free
his consciousness from exterior limitations. These
ancient ways, once known to only a few, have
now become routes well-traveled by many modern
adventurers. This book shows how to use these
ways, and why they operate as "maps of
consciousness.”

I CHING —Revered by the Chinese as the oldest and wisest book in the
world, it offers us a momentary glimpse into the world of constancy-in-change.

1* ^
TANTRA—The medieval Indian celebration of the union of male and
female energies through the exaltation of sensation perception.

'TAROT—The cards that act as ageless, culture-transcending mirrors, reso­

nating to show us unthinkable things within ourselves as they bring us through the
nether and upper worlds in a complex journey.

ALCHEMY—Transforming the "elements” and binding forces of plane­

tary-cosmic phenomena into finer, higher substances.

^ASTROLOGY— Revealing the rhythmic cycles of the planets, and how

their phases may be experienced by human beings in terms of motion and emotion.

ACTUALISM —Propelling us through the levels of being and conscious­

ness toward the ultimate externalization of God.

RALPH MTTZNER has studied linguistic philosophy, psychoanalysis, and behaviorist learning
theory; has explored both the psychedelics and other methods of expanding awareness; and has pur­
sued an active interest in the "psychic,” or the "occult.” Dr. Metzner was editor of Psychedelic Review
for six years and co-authored The Psychedelic Experience with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpcrt.
He also is editor of The Ecstatic Adventure (Macmillan 1968). He has worked as a clinical psychol­
ogist in several places including the Counseling Center at Stanford University and has conducted
seminars ar the Esalen Institute and other growth centers.

COLLIER BOOKS
866 THIRD AVENUE, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10022