CHART NUMBER 19: A GRAND CROSS

   Woman, born on September 10, 1891; Long. 46N, Lat. 119W.

   HOUSE POSITIONS: Midheaven/Virgo 3; 11th House/Libra 5; 12th House/Libra 29; Ascendant/Scorpio 18:57; 2nd House/Sagittarius 19; 3rd House/Capricorn 25.

   PLANETARY POSITIONS: Moon/Sagittarius 9:51; Jupiter/Pisces 12:31R; Neptune/ Gemini 9:04; Mars/Virgo 3:53; Venus/Virgo 15:37; Sun/Virgo 17:45; Saturn/ Virgo 20:06; Mercury/Virgo 22:35R; Uranus/Libra 29:08; Dragon's Tail/ Scorpio 29:00.

   When we observe so many afflictions in the horoscope of an individual we wonder what kind of a life was lived in a previous embodiment to cause the building of such a restricted and uncomfortable vehicle for the Ego to function in this life. Oh, if we could only be impressed with the idea that we are the makers of our own destiny, and that we are building at present the "house" in which we will live in this life as well as in the ones to come! If the builder of a physical house builds well and carefully he will have the satisfaction of being comfortable in it. When we understand that this bodily house is the Temple of the Living God, the Spirit within; when we realize that we build it be every thought, feeling and action, we are more inclined to learn how to build it right and provide for ourselves a comfortable "home" in this life and the ones to come! When we waste our mental faculties by frittering away our time, then we are not choosing mental material for a heealthy and strong mind to think and create with, and like this poor woman, we will suffer with fear, restlessness, and frustration.

   We find this woman's chart to be rather disheartening. Virgo occupies the Midheaven with Mars, Venus, Sun, Saturn and Mercury grouped in a stellium forming a grand-cross with the other planets in the four angles. This is a severe handicap to overcome. For instance, the progressive, dynamic Mars in conjunction with the Midheaven, in Virgo, forms a T-square with Neptune (higher mind) in Gemini in the 7th house which opposes the Moon (instinctive mind) in Sagittarius in the 1st House. This indicates that mental blocks may prevent her from cooperating with anyone who tries to help her.

   Venus, the Sun, and Saturn are also posited in the 10th House, opposing Jupiter in Pisces in the 4th house of home and family. This shows that her domineering mind antagonizes those who are associated with her at home and create emotional frustrations. This, in turn, arouses the desire nature to indulge the appetites in various ways, with disastrous consequences for her health. Venus and Sun in opposition to Jupiter produces physical weakness through circulatory, liver and abdominal problems and causes her to tire easily. She also had difficulties with her lower limbs all her life.

   We find, however, that the greatest affliction comes from Mercury in conjunction with Saturn, elevated in its own sign Virgo and also retrograde. This holds the mind tenaciously in bondage, and produces a supersensitive mentality which does not forget nor forgive. as we may see, because she neglected her mind in lives past, she has come back with a mind that is now a handicap to her. She has always had the feeling that others were trying to injure her and rebelled at the condition she herself was responsible for, blaming it on those who loved her and desired to help her. With the Mercury- Saturn affliction, her suspicious mind always brought her to mistrust any effort which her relatives made in her behalf. Especially during the last few years, she would not allow anyone to come near her for fear of being poisoned. Patients who are partially restricted mentally are the most difficult to help. It is only when the ego is free from the body in sleep, that the Invisible Helpers can work on these patients. But when the ego returns to consciousness and again takes up its daily routine, the stubborn Saturn gets back in its restricting work, for with five planets in Virgo in the 10th house such an individual is ruler over the entire family. Since the members of the family want peace that must bow to her rule, else she makes the home most uncomfortable for them.

CHART NUMBER 20: BLINDNESS

   Woman, born on October 4, 1865 at 10:33 AM; Long. 8E, Lat. 53N.

   HOUSE CUSPS: Midheaven/Virgo 20; 11th House/Libra 19; 12th House/Scorpio 10 Ascendant/Scorpio 26; 2nd House/Sagittarius 28; 3rd House/Aquarius 10.

   PLANETARY POSITIONS: Jupiter/Sagittarius 22:52; Moon/Aries 3:45; Neptune/Aries 9:20; Dragon's Tail/Aries 21:07; Pluto/Taurus 13:45; Uranus/Cancer 3:54; Venus/Virgo 6:58; Mercury/Virgo 28:32; Sun/Libra 11:10; Mars/Libra 22:59; Saturn/Scorpio 0:25

   This woman's chart tells us how, through her friends, she was wined and dined, and also, how she herself entertained royally when she had the means to do so. It was through this social life that she laid the foundation which would later cripple her life. Many times she was encouraged to face the truth about her empty life, but ignored the advice, pretending that she needed her friends more than Truth. She became totally blind in her late 50's.

   Mars, ruler of the Ascendant, in detriment in Libra is in conjunction with Saturn. The Sun in fall in Libra and Mercury in its own sign of Virgo, both elevated in the Midheaven, opposing the conjunction Moon-Neptune in Aries in the 4th, form a T-square with Uranus in Cancer in the 8th house. Mercury also receives a square from Jupiter dignified in Sagittarius in the 1st house. These afflictions show the tremendous weakness of the nervous system and especially in the parts of the body ruled by Aries and Libra. We know that Aries, the Sun, the Moon and Uranus (the latter controls the ethers, medium of light transmission) rule eyesight. Uranus afflicted in Cancer explains that devitalized foods and lack of sleep weakened her vital body. Mercury afflicted in Virgo shows an unhealthy life style where unbalanced diet, toxic drinks and smoke hampered the body with difficult digestion and poor assimilation. With Sun and Mars afflicted in Libra her desire for rich spicy food brought disastrous consequences on the kidneys which failed to purify the blood from toxic waste. The blood then fed this waste to the vulnerable organs of the opposite sign Aries, and, with time she became blind.

   Let us study the eye and its mechanism. When a light ray reaches the eye it is transformed by the various substances it passes through so that it may properly be used by the body. When it touches the conjunctiva (tissue covering the cornea) a fragment of the ray is reflected away from the eye. As light crosses the cornea the highly charged etheric beam that carries the photons (light particles) is slowed down and redirected toward the crystalline lens. Then it passes through the aqueous humor which absorbs most of the etheric energy of the beam and sends it to the blood via the canal of schlemm, saving this vital force for the body. The light vibration is further stepped down by the focusing process in the crystalline eye lens. After this, the softer light beam crosses the vitreous humor (between lens and retina) whose very special structure acts like a polarizing filter and separates the photons from their supporting etheric beam before they hit the photoreceptors of the retina. Their influence on the photoreceptors generates chemical reactions that inform the brain via the optic nerve.

   Mercury rules the optic nerve and retina in general, but the Sun, Uranus and Neptune rule specific groups of cells. The Sun also rules the lens and cornea, while the Moon controls both the vitreous and aqueous humors. Since the different parts of the eye are nourished and maintained by the blood, it is most vital to keep it clean with good kidneys. When toxic blood goes to the eye, the aqueous humor loses its normal alkaline balance and can no longer absorb the above described highly charged etheric beam, then instead of building the eye, light gradually burns it and blindness follows.

   Spiritual vision is an extension of physical sight. There is a tiny canal (canal of stilling) in the vitreous humor that extends in a straight line from the blind spot (optic nerve) to the center of the lens and is filled with a fluid similar to the aqueous humor. When we are concentrating, our ethers become highly charged and a beam of ether shoots through the center of the optic nerve, passes through the canal of stilling, is polarized by the lens and is projected out of the eyes. If the concentration is used to investigate the memory of nature this beam is focused upon the planetary reflecting ether, then our one-pointed mind brings its vibration in harmony with the 4th Region of the World of Thought, then the heart, through right feeling lifts us up to the World of Life Spirit which is the true memory of nature. The Life Spirit, the World of Thought and the higher ethers are brought in unison by this process in a manner similar to the strings of a piano when you depress the pedal and hit a low C string, then the other octaves, middle C and high C resonate with it.

   Of course this all sounds simple, but one must work many lifetimes to attain the goal. Some of us DID start in the past and have attained some measure of insight. You may want to go back to Chapter XX of "The Message of the Stars" to discover the subtle indications of efforts made along these lines in past lives as described by Max Heindel. Our patient did not experience spiritual vision and even though she was sad about it, she did not despair for Max Heindel left us an infallible method with seven exercises in Chapter XVII of "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception." She trained herself with them and used most positively the last 15 years of her life in total blindness. She prepared herself for her next life, and she said before passing on: "Next time I will 'Walk in the light as He is in the light' whether I have eyes or not."

   This article was adapted from the literature of The Rosicrucian Fellowship.

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