In
the 1997 Fall Issue of the Church of Light Quarterly, members
were made aware that The Brotherhood of Light has its own prophecy; it can
be found in The Light of
Egypt
published by Thomas H. Burgoyne in 1889. The article describes Burgoyne's
vision as a perspective of empowerment and possibility which can contribute
to our individual and collective consciousness. This is the issue in which
the President of the Church of Light informs us that our mission as
Stellarians is at the core of an unfolding vision, and that this vision is
about the reformation of religious thinking in the Age of Aquarius.
It seems to me that if we are to clarify and implement the
Hermetic vision of the New Age, we should become aware of The Brotherhood of
Light prophecy written by Elbert Benjamine in The Astrological Lore of
All Ages published in 1945. This oversight is made blatant in The
Church of Light Catalog. Under the title: The Light of Egypt,
we read that this set contains "the wisdom of the ages regarding man and his
destiny, here and hereafter." Under the title: The Astrological Lore
of All Ages, which is precisely about the wisdom of all the ages, we
read: "learn about the astrological significance of all the holidays we
celebrate." The Prophecy for the Aquarian Age and The Coming Civilization,
the most important chapters of the book, are ignored.
I shall now examine the two Brotherhood of Light prophecies
from a feminist point of view.
The prophecy of Burgoyne is based on the idea that seven
Angelic States rotate the rulership of the World, and that they constitute
the seven principles of God. Missing are the angels from the upper octave
planets, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Out of the seven Spiritual
Intelligences ruling the World, Cassiel, Zachariel, Samael, Michael, Anael
and Gabriel, only two are feminine in orientation. In astrological terms, it
means that women are identified with the Archetypes of the Moon and Venus,
giving them the sex-role of mother, wife, and prostitute.
Anael, the Angel of Venus, ruled the world from the year A.D.
29 to the year 337. Apparently, the magnetic influences of the feminine was
detrimental to the patriarchal social order, for this was ".a time of great
licentiousness in Rome, when women, love, lust and debauchery were the order
of the day." The next time Anael assumes the guardianship of the world, from
the year A.D. 2188 to the year 2497, the Aquarian Age will be in full swing.
Burgoyne predicts that this is the time when women will finally achieve
complete sexual equality with men. "This is a feminine period, and women
will, during Anael's reign, become man's just and lawful equal, socially and
politically." But because "this is the period of feminine force and love,"
Western nations should see to it that they don't attract into their mist the
dark legionaries of Anael. The Great Archangel Michael will rule the world
during the first section of the Aquarian Age, from A.D. 1889 to 2188, and
although women receive more attention in worldly affairs, it is not a
feminine period by any means. Simply put, women will have to wait another
190 years, from A.D. 1998 to 2188, to achieve full social status.
Let's see what happens when Gabriel, the Angel of the Moon,
becomes the Supreme Ruler of the World. This occurred at the end of the year
A.D. 646 and lasted until the year 954. "This period, like all Lunar
periods, was one of intellectual slumber." The next time Gabriel takes up
the reins of power, from A.D. 2806 to 3114, the Aquarian Age will be in full
force. However, the negative feminine influence of the Moon will stop all
mental progress, and humanity will once more relapse into ignorance.
Based on Burgoyne's prophecy, the first section of the
Aquarian Age belongs to Michael, the Angel of the Sun. In Western Astrology,
the Sun is considered a masculine symbol. However, this is not a universal
concept. It is essentially a Classical view of gender which needs revision.
I am inclined to view the first period of the Aquarian Age as one in which
women will assert their will power; I have no trouble believing that
feminism will be instrumental in reshaping Western civilization. I am using
the term feminism to mean a positive force in evolution.
The second section of the Aquarian Age is ruled by Anael, the
Angel of Venus, and according to Burgoyne, this will be the feminist era.
Venus expresses its masculine polarity through the sign of Libra, a female
Archetype, and its feminine polarity through the sign of Taurus, a male
Archetype. We can infer from this combination that gender polarity will be
balanced during this period.
The third section of the Aquarian Age is under the command of
Raphael, the Angel of Mercury. The influence of this Intelligence cannot be
said to be strictly masculine. Indeed, Mercury expresses its feminine
polarity in Virgo, the sign of the zodiac associated with the ability to
think critically and logically. There is no reason to believe that women
will not take advantage of this Mercurial influence to refine their minds
and become the Genius of Humanity.
The fourth section of the Aquarian Age is said to be a
feminine period because Gabriel, the Angel of the Moon, is the ruler of the
world, and the Moon is associated with women. The scientific study conducted
by Michel Cauquelin demonstrates that the Moon is prominent in the charts of
gifted writers and politicians, and therefore has nothing to do with the
stagnation of the mind. Furthermore, Carl G. Jung has shown that intuition
and emotion are basic modes of human functioning, no less than perception
through thinking. The human psyche is both male and female; the feminine in
man corresponds to the anima, and the masculine in woman corresponds to the
animus. Burgoyne's pessimistic outlook for this section of the Age of
Aquarius is irreconcilable with the basic tenets of this sign of the zodiac
whose very name and symbol relate to the water element. I therefore disagree
that the influences of the Moon will bring a Dark Age in the New Age;
instead, the Moon section of the Aquarian Age will enhance the imagination
and creativity in men and women alike.
The prophecy of Elbert Benjamine contains The Nine Point
Plan, which, according to the 1997 Spring issue of the Church of Light
Quarterly, "is more than a masculine, political manifesto." It is
an affirmation of the humanitarian potential of the Aquarian Age. But the
plan needs the feminine which gives birth to form. Should women be given
credit for their feminine contribution? The answer lies in the prophecy of
T.H. Burgoyne who "says that humankind will not truly understand the
feminine contribution until the age of the Archangel Anael which will occur
between the years 2188 to 2497." I believe that Elbert Benjamine's prophecy
provides a better answer to this question. Regardless of the answer, it
seems to me that The Nine Point Plan will have a better chance to succeed if
we follow Elbert Benjamine's prophecy.
In chapter eight titled: A Prophecy for the Aquarian
Age, Benjamine admits that "there is no precise astronomical
observation by which it can be determined when any of the ages began." To
determine the birth of the Aquarian Age Benjamine relies on three factors:
the 1881 pyramidal inches in the great Gallery of the Great Pyramid; the
precessiosn of the Vernal Equinox which backed into Aquarius in 1881; and
specific events which separate one age from another. Aquarius being a
scientific sign, it is possible to see that since 1881, science has made
greater advances than during the whole 2,156 preceding Piscean years.
The fact that we are in the Libra Decanate of the Aquarian
Age has special significance for the female sex. "While the Equinox was in
Pisces woman was in bondage to marital relations. But no sooner did the
equinox move into the Libra decanate of Aquarius than she began to struggle
for equal rights with man." The key word for the Libra decanate of Aquarius
is repression, and this is precisely what gave rise to the feminist
movement. It is well known to astrologers that the sign Libra rules marriage
and justice. Given the pioneering influence of the Libra Decanate of the
Aquarian Age, Benjamine predicts that woman will in due time achieve equal
status with man throughout the world.
Benjamine takes also into consideration the influences of the
three upper octave planets, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The revolutionary
nature of these three planets is made clear by the events associated with
their discovery. Uranus, the planet of invention and independence, was
discovered in 1781, and is associated with the American and the French
Revolutions. Neptune was discovered in 1846, ushering the Industrial
Revolution, as well as the Socialist Revolutions of 1848 which occurred in
France, Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. Pluto was discovered in 1930,
shortly after the collapse of the stock market, and is associated with mass
movements, racketeering, dictatorship, secrecy, and psychological and
spiritual transformation. The important thing is that the discovery of Pluto
coincides with the beginning of the Pluto Period of the Aquarian Age. For
Benjamine, it is the lower-Pluto forces which bring the Dark Ages, War World
II being a prime example. In ancient times, these dark forces contributed to
the sinking of Atlantis, and to the downfall of Akenaten's religious reform.
What should we expect from the Pluto Period of the Sun
Section of the Libra Decanate of the Aquarian Age? The answer lies in the
birth chart of the Aquarian Age and the progressed aspects which have formed
in it. Benjamine provides the chart of the Aquarian Age as if affects the
United States. Since "the same progressed aspects- except those involving
the MC and ASC.- will take place on practically the same date in every
country of the world," it is possible to ascertain world trends based on the
chart of the Aquarian Age erected for Washington D.C. I find it interesting
that he traced the major progressed aspects involved in world trends,
beginning in 1881, one year before his birth, and ending in 1950, one year
before his death. He was born the year a bright comet appeared in the sky.
The symbolic significance of this cosmic event, and the fact that the birth
of the Aquarian Age coincides with the birth of Elbert Benjamine, tells me
that he is the true prophet of the Aquarian Age.
The significance of the progressed aspects of the chart of
the Aquarian Age should be recognized in connection with the cycle charts of
planets. Benjamine's prophecy points to the importance of the present
Neptune cycle which began in 1863 and will last into the twenty-first
century. The idealistic nature of Neptune demands that all the people of the
globe shall have equal access to economic, political and educational
opportunities, as well as equal access to recreational, health and other
public services. It demands that there shall be Freedom from Fear, Freedom
from Want, Freedom of Expression, and Freedom of Religion. The progressed
aspects to all three upper octave planets indicate that a tremendous effort
will be made to free the world from the economic, political and intellectual
tyranny which was characteristic of the Piscean Age. Elbert Benjamine
predicts that "at not too distant a date" the people of the world will win
these opportunities and these freedoms. The starting point will be when the
Vernal Equinox has become fully polarized in Aquarius, 72 years after 1881
in 1953.
The two Brotherhood of Light prophecies offer a very
different view of the Aquarian Age. Whereas Burgoyne's vision is based on
nationalistic, imperialistic, and sexist prerogatives, Benjamine's vision is
based on the universal principle of equality and freedom for all the people
of the earth. Benjamine is aware that the elimination of privilege will not
come about without a struggle. History proves that he was correct in
predicting that the first step toward the foundation of The New Civilization
will be laid out toward the end of the 1950's. It was indeed in the 1960's
that the Age of Aquarius was proclaimed by the flower generation. The
arrival of the New Age coincides with two decades of revolutions to
overthrow the Piscean Establishment. The Black Civil Right Movement, the
Women's Liberation Movement, the Ecological Movement, the Sexual Revolution,
and the Marxist Revolution, come to mind. The computer revolution ushering
the Information Age can accommodate the rebirth of astrology in Western
society. The postmodern era is on a collision course with orthodox religion
and orthodox science, both of which divide the body from the mind. The
result is Materialism.
Commenting on the 1981 Saturn cycle chart, Dennis Sutton,
founder of the Hermetic Academy of Astrology, writes: "In Mundane Astrology
Venus rules women and with Saturn opposition Venus the women's movement and
feminism took a hard right turn. Instead of relying on their natural grace,
charm and elegance feminism toughened up" (Quarterly, Fall
1997). Women did not emancipate themselves by relying on their natural grace
and charm. Women won their civil rights through heroic actions and a great
deal of activism. The Rights of Women and the Rights of Men have the same
planetary origin: Uranus and Neptune. The discovery of Uranus coincides with
The Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen, a document
published in 1791 by Olympes de Courges, France's most notorious
Revolutionary Mother. She was guillotined on November 3, 1793, four days
after the Convention voted to forbid women to assemble and join political
clubs. The discovery of Neptune coincides with the first Women's Rights
Convention held at Seneca Falls in 1848. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, America's
most notorious Revolutionary Mother, drew The Declaration of Sentiments
modeled after The Declaration of Independence. In 1783, just eight years
before the Equinox backed into Aquarius in 1881, Susan B. Anthony gave a
speech while awaiting trail for voting in the presidential election which
anticipates the liberating influence of the Libra Decanate of the Aquarian
Age. A Liberal Democracy "which ordains all men sovereigns, all women
subjects carries dissension, discord and rebellion into every home of the
nation" (Famous American Speeches, 1996).
The reason there is a women's movement in the late 1990's is
that despite the feminist revolution of 1968 which sought to integrate the
sexes in the public sphere, women have not yet achieved full social status
at the civic and symbolic levels. Women have to contend with token female
representation in political, financial and religious institutions even
though they represent over half of the population. In the Western world,
this state of affairs is reflected in Heaven and Earth. God rules Above and
Man rules Below. In Hermetic astrology, God Above is the all-pervading
masculine Intelligence, the head of our solar and planetary hierarchy. Man
Below, being the positive, active principle of evolution and civilization,
is the natural ruler of the family and the state. Should Woman who has no
divine representation, no history, no civilization, and only token secular
representation, be anything else than the invisible half of Man?
How does Universal Welfare reconcile with the sexist language
and symbology of The Brotherhood of Light lessons? Does the emblem of The
Brotherhood of Light denotes sexual equality? If the conjunction of the Sun
and the Moon represents the symbolic union of masculine and feminine
energies, then the position of the Sun on top of the Moon conveys the idea
of sexual hierarchy. Is this because the masculine Sun relates to the power
urge and the feminine Moon to the domestic urge?
As a feminist Hermetic astrologer, I agree with Benjamine
that the Vernal Equinox in Aquarius is the determining factor of the women's
movement. This implies that the women's movement is ruled by Uranus rather
than Venus. Uranus is also the ruler of astrology, the basis of The Religion
of the Stars, the World religion of the future. The problem is that Hermetic
astrology carries many assumptions about gender that reflect outdated
Piscean modes of thinking. I think it is important for us to realize that
feminists are the leaders of a revolution in consciousness that deconstructs
and regenerates human culture. One such pioneer is Kalli Halvorson, a
feminist astrologer from Oakland, California who realized that the
androcentrist, patriarchal, monotheistic assumptions that stood as the first
principles of virtually all academic disciplines can also be found in
astrology. This prompted her to invite women astrologers to write essays
about the relationship between astrology and feminism. The response was
astonishing and led to the publication of Herstar Invocation One and Two,
the Manifestos of Feminist Astrological Awareness and Activism. I believe
that the astrological community, including The Church of Light, will not be
able to ignore the feminist perspective for very much longer. Under the
influence of Uranus and Neptune in Aquarius, a new cosmological framework is
likely to emerge. If the 1960's conjunction between Uranus and Pluto
corresponds to the merging of astrology and psychology, the 1990's
conjunction between Uranus and Neptune represents the marriage between
astrology and mysticism. The rethinking of feminine and masculine Archetypes
is made imperative by the return of the divine feminine.
I would like to end my examination of the Hermetic vision of
the New Age with a feminist perspective based on the Tarot. I found it in
Signs, Stars, and Seers, a book sold by The Church
of Light and given to me by Phyllis Stanick who served as Vice-President for
many years before passing on to the next plane. Its author, Andrew Tomas,
unveils the prophecy of the Tarot as it was passed on by the original
custodians of its mysteries, the Knights Templars who received it from the
Initiatic Fraternities of Egypt and India. Tomas notes that the appearance
of the Tarot in fourteenth century Europe coincides with the persecution of
the Knights Templars. There is also a tradition that the Tarot cards are
pages of The Book of Thoth saved by the Hierophants of Serapis about the
time of the burning of the Alexandrian library. In order to avoid
prosecution, Hermetic brotherhoods adopted the policy of preserving their
secret knowledge in veiled symbols. But the time has come to reveal the
prophetic interpretation of the historical keys represented by the 22 major
Arcana. The prophecies of the Tarot covers a period of about 2,200 years,
each card approximating about one hundred years. Tomas recognizes that "It
is only the knowledge of astrology and the precession of the Equinoxes that
can explain the reasons for the tone of each historical cycle."
Tomas designates the period between 1956 and 1975 as the
beginning of the New Age and the disintegration of the old. The twenty first
century is represented by Major Arcanum 22, the last card of the Tarot, here
referred to as the World. The card features the zodiac with the four beasts
known in astrology as the four fixed signs- Taurus, or the Bull, Leo or the
Lion, Scorpio or the Eagle, and Aquarius or the Man. These cosmic signs are
also known as the Cherubim of the prophet Ezekial, and the four evangelists:
St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John. 'The cosmic note of this card
will be perceived by the observant student of the Mystic signs."
One of the greatest enigmas confronting the seeker of Truth
is "the Sphinx of History." The famous Egyptian Sphinx is a figure with a
woman's head and bust, and a lion's body. It has stood amid the sands on the
edge of the desert for four thousand years. The Sphinx motif in the World
card is a mythological beast with the features of a woman, a lion, a bull
and an eagle. The symbolic association of woman with the World card
indicates that "This is definitely the age of the ascendancy of Woman." The
World points to the universal character of the next epoch. "In the new age
we shall have a World Government, a World Language and a World Economy." The
Plutocracy is to be replaced by the Common Good. Since the Goddess is the
active principle of Cosmos, we can assume that this is the Divine Plan. The
time period for the establishment of the New Civilization is from 1975 to
2075. It is interesting to note that 1975 corresponds to the height of the
feminist revolution.
My examination of the Hermetic prophecies of the New Age
leads me to conclude that Stellarians ought to reform their own religious
vision before they set out to reform the religious thinking in the Age of
Aquarius. I hope this critical essay will be seen as my contribution toward
that goal.
A presentation by Daniele LeCroy, Hermetician, at the
Hermetician Retreat, September 18, 1998, Grand Junction, Colorado.
Bibliography of materials consulted for this essay:
-
Elbert Benjamine. 1945.
The Astrological Lore of All Ages. Aries Press, Chicago.
-
Andrew Tomas, Signs,
Stars and Seers. Llewellyn Publication,
Los Angeles.
-
Quarterly,
1997 Fall and Spring Issues, Church of Light,
Los Angeles.
-
An Ancient Message, The
New Age, The Supreme Council,
Washington D.C.
-
Orville W. Webster III.
1996. Famous American Speeches. Santa Monica Press.
-
Herstar, Invocation One.
1997. Oakland
Borrowed
Article Copyright Permission Pending
©
Daniele LeCroy-Wilson
-
Domain of Matriarchy
