The eleventh sign ofthe Zodiac corresponds to the stellar influence of Aquarius. The symbol ofAquarius is most commonly seen as a water-bearing human - usually male - pouring forth the waters of wisdom. Aquarius can also be represented by a woman with an urn or a vessel in either hand carefully mixing the liquid between these two vessels. The same icon, the same image, is visible in the Fourteenth Arcanum of the Tarot, which we call Temperance. This symbol contains within itself the mystical science, the precise understanding, of alchemy.
Alchemy is a term that directly translated means “the chemistry ofGod,” and alchemy is a process where by forms of matter are manipulated consciously; in other words, nature is worked with in a conscious way, in order to arrive at a transcendental goal. But as with any science, with any chemical process, Will is the determining factor. We can use any science with evil will in order to accomplish a desire, or we can use any science through conscious will in order to realize the purposes and goals of creation in accordance with the Laws.
If we analyze the word Aquarius, we find in it elemental attributes that relate directly to this science of alchemy. The first part is obviously “Aqua,” which of course is water, from Latin, and then we have “Arius” or air. Aquarius as a sign is related to the basic elements of water and air: but air is the main element. Each of the Zodiacal signs is related to an element, and the core element ofeach sign provides the foundation ofthe way that constellation or Zodiacal sign can influence the psyche.
Air is related to the mind, related to the eagle, to the mind that can reach lofty heights. The air, the mind, is related to thought, to intellect, and to Buddhi, the spiritual soul.
Aqua or water is related to the sephirah Yesod. The waters figure significantly in all religions. In particular, it would be a worthwhile endeavor to spend a little time analyzing the appearances of water in the Bible and if you do, you will discover that there are a great number of miracles and magical works in the bible, all of which are related to water. If we look simply at the gospels we would discover that a vast number ofmiracles of Jesus were accomplished by means of water. And this is not accident: it is symbolic, and the water that performs the magic is the water that is being mixed between the two urns in the fourteenth Arcanum. It is the water of Aquarius.
Jesus talks about the water of life which spring up in the belly, which is of course, if you have studied any kind of Chinese medicine, then you have heard of the tan tien, the ocean of chi, which is related with the lower abdomen. This is symbolic of sexual energy. The sexual forces are accumulated and polarized through the sexual organ, which are not merely the external component that is visible on the outside of the body: it is also related to the internal glands and internal chakras, which are related to the lower abdomen.
So the water and the air - or in other words the water and the spirit - are the two elements of Aquarius. In the Gospels, Jesus tells Nicodemus that we must be born again of water and spirit. So what is this Aquarian mystery? What is the deep hidden knowledge related to the water and the air?
Some of you may have heard that very recently we as a race - as a planet - entered into a new age, a new era ofdevelopment. Different groups calculate the passing into this new age in different ways, but all agree that within the last few decades we entered into a new era, the Age ofAquarius, and in Gnosis we assign that transition to February 4th 1962. This transition was the movement out of the Age of Pisces, which we will study in the next lecture, and into the Age of Aquarius, which is the age in which we are now. And as you can easily perceive, since the year 1962, humanity has undergone a tremendous change.
Beginning with that period of time in the early 1960’s, there was a huge shift in our psychological environment; all of our social systems began to change in radical ways. We witnessed huge upsets in the balance of power between man and woman; we witnessed a huge revolution in the way people think about life, but in particular about sex. Starting in the 1960’s this revolution spread around the world: to abandon the previous concept of sexuality, which was stale, which was regressive, which was suppressive. In other words, in the Piscean era, humanity was enslaved by sex, hid sexuality, suppressed it, didn’t like to talk about it, kept everything related with sex hidden, and this is because the influence ofthe Piscean forces.
In particular we find, this was especially true of the Tantric mysteries. Tantra - or true alchemy - was previously hidden from the eyes of the population, and it was only in the years leading up to the dawning of the Aquarian age that the Tantric mysteries began to be revealed in an open fashion. And of course through out the 60’s and 70’s the interest and investigation of Tantra began to increase dramatically, until now. There are a vast number of people who have heard of Tantra and always equate it with sexuality, but unfortunately, the understanding of Tantra in these times is corrupt.
Aquarius is the bringer ofknowledge, so when we entered into the Aquarian age, we entered into a time within which humanity is due to receive knowledge, science, and in a very superficial form we can see that reflected in the arrival in what people are calling the “information age.” In this time, in our economics, in our social systems, we have shifted away from a materialistic basis for our economic health and the shift now is on the information basis: knowledge, wisdom, understanding, learning; this is a very superficial reflection of the influence of the Aquarian era. The heart of the Aquarian influence is in esoteric knowledge, but to understand that, we need to know a little bit about this word “knowledge” and what precisely it is referring to.
We tend to make the assumption that knowledge is related to the intellect, and it is true that intellectual knowledge is a form ofunderstanding, a form of knowledge, that is necessary. But, it is only the bottom, it is the most superficial; the most shallow level of knowledge is intellectual knowledge. So to comprehend why we talk about Aquarius as the bringer ofknowledge, we are going to look a little bit at some Sanskrit terminology, which can open up some doors for us in our understanding.
In Sanskrit, there is the word vidya, and we also hear the word jnana; both of these terms are translated as knowledge. Vidya actually has two meanings, two forms of knowledge are enclosed by vidya: the first is aparavidya, which is simple intellectual knowledge, or in other words lower knowledge. The other form of vidya is called paravidya, and this is higher knowledge, but paravidya is intuitive experiential knowledge. So in the understanding of the two forms of vidya we see immediately the two forms of Kabbalah.
Samael Aun Weor pointed out very clearly that there are two kinds ofKabbalists:
- Intellectual kabbalists, who only study theories and memorize things, but have no conscious experience of what they study, and these would be people who are gathering aparavidya, which is intellectual understanding, intellectual knowledge.
- The second kind of kabbalist seeks after paravidya, which is intuitive spiritual experience, in other words the direct experience of the truths of the tree of life. They have penetrated consciously into the direct experience of the Kabbalah.
We have another kind of person next to these two, or another form ofunderstanding, called avidya, which is the word vidya with an A in front ofit. Now you will notice that aparavidya is just like paravidya but with an A in front, and avidya is vidya with an A in front. The a means “without,” so avidya means “without knowledge,” in other words, without experience, even without intellectual understanding. And in both Hinduism and Buddhism they say the source of all suffering is avidya, ignorance, to ignore. Ignore is an I with gno, gno from gnosis; I indicates “without,” just like the A in avidya.
If you have studied Hinduism, you have stidied the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is a discourse given by Krisha, who is the Christ in the Indian mysteries, and Krisha throughout the entire discourse of the Bhagavad Gita emphasizes knowledge, but he clearly differentiates two forms ofknowledge. In most translations you will find them as “phenomenal” and “numinous.” And Krishna states explicitly that we need both of these forms of knowledge, both of these forms of vidya.
Phenomenal knowledge is related to phenomenon, manifested things, to have knowledge of our environment, to have knowledge of what we perceive.
Numinous knowledge is of spiritual things: these are vidya and jnana. Vidya would be related to numinous knowledge, to spiritual knowledge, while jnana is just knowing, or knowledge in general. So it is good to understand when studying these scriptures, the different subtleties ofthe terms, and the reason is that our own thinking, our own understanding, is our obstacle.
For example, in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna, “Spiritual liberation comes through knowing me.” So most followers of Hinduism read that and think in the same way that Christians do, “If I believe in Krishna, then I am saved.” This is false. This is not what Krishna is saying. Krishna is saying by “knowing” me; this is not belief: this is experiential, conscious. Many of us have a hard time conceiving of the idea that you can actually know Krishna personally, but that is the point of real religion: to know for oneself, to converse with the prophets, with the gods, to talk to them, to get answers from them, to get guidance. This is the purpose ofreligious studies really. It is not just to stuff our heads with concepts or beliefs; that is the lowest form ofknowledge, intellectual knowledge, and that is aparavidya, which is low knowledge, it is related to spiritual things, but it is stuck in the intellect. We need paravidya, experiential knowledge, knowledge of the wisdom of the gods through our own direct experience, and to acquire that consciously, not by reading, but by doing it.
Excerpt from this lecture https://glorian.org/learn/courses-and-lectures/astrology/aquarius
Yeah, the Aquarian forces have been in motions since the 60’s. Whether or not it was exactly 1962 doesn’t matter. It already passed a while ago.