VII Commentaries
The children come into balance in Libra by dint of the Golden Sword. A barely noticeable feature, but nevertheless an important one. Without the sword their entrance into Scorpio would have been impossible; their weight would have been unevenly distributed and the Eagle would not have been able to carry them. But the sword made it possible for them to fly into the land of the unknown, the “strata of existence ignored by Libra.” Pedestrian astrologers associate Scorpio with Death, but as readers recall from the previous chapter the children are not sentenced to death, they are merely banished. The “odyssey in service of a higher cause” continues.
Two universal principles work in tandem in the story, and in life, always. Thea teaches that “the incarnate power of the Divine Consciousness-Force” aligns itself with the feminine principle which she writes is Shakti. The masculine principle is the other universal which is represented by Pom-pom, who is given the Sword apparently because the male principle needs to ‘measure up’ to feminine principle, “the measure,” in the balancing process. Thea is direct and explicit. She states that these images provide “the deepest key to the workings of the universe, in particular its progression through the aeonic cycles of Time.” We learn that Woman is the Measure. Further, we learn that Kali is the “woman.” “She is the power of Time, consort of Mahakala, the Great Time.” Specifically, Thea writes that the Kaliyuga is the Divine Measure: 432,000, which is the radius of the Sun. She explains this key in her prequal to The Magical Carousel: Symbols and the Question of Unity. Of note here is that Saturn is exalted in Libra, which corresponds to Time-Spirit, or Mahakala. “And Woman is the body of the Absolute: She is the Divine Measure.” Symbolically, Val relates to the Shakti power in the story. Always leading the way and if necessary, goading Pom-pom into action.
Reference is made to Scorpio containing the full force of the vital power even though this power is associated with the second triad (quadrant). But what is being described is a spectrum of energies that exist anywhere on the wheel. For example, Libra puts on display a more refined and sophisticated expression of the mental principle as compared to Gemini, but both represent varying levels of mental expression. What is learned in Scorpio is that the body is the realm of intensification “in the process of self-objectification of the Supreme Consciousness.” Realizing that these observations are both metaphorical as well as literal takes more time than it takes to read a blog. But the wisdom is ancient. The Emerald Tablet speaks to this stating that what is true in the microcosm appears to be true in the macrocosm. Said another way, there is an echo in creation. Readers can relate to the story on a personal level, as it relates to the physical body, but also in broadest terms imaginable, “to the vast universal dimensions.”
Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius are the seventh, eight, and ninth signs to be traversed ahead of reaching the peak or the destination of our journey. Achieving Immortality means facing death, addressing bodily decay and disintegration. Otherwise achieving our place, in “universal harmony,” cannot be known. Understanding “the role of human death,” and how to win release from it clutches, to be liberated so that higher realms can be explored requires knowing death’s purpose and why it is necessary in the first place. One of the most fascinating questions that The Magical Carousel raises for me is the question of Death, and its necessity, as a way toward realizing its senselessness.
The individual will under duress attack themselves through means of self-disregard, either through drugs, lifestyle, or even ideological poison, in ways that only a Scorpion can. This is mostly due to the Minds infinite capacity for righteousness, but utter lack of capacity to awaken and face death consciously, or as Thea writes, “to rend the veil.” But the simplest view from the eighth sign is to understand how the individual perspective will dramatically stretch from this point since there are still four more signs for the individual to experience. Scorpio is NOT the END! The breakthrough required to overcome the stagnation and death exemplified in Scorpio is displayed by the children in their confrontation with the forces of inertia that are so representative of the eighth sign. Thea points out that the same encounter and liberation is depicted in the Rig Veda’s twelve stage hymn where “passage through the seventh, eighth, and ninth stages” prove critical. The most crucial time within the process was marked as a ‘sacrifice’ whose purpose becomes evident a bit later in the writings.
The Vedic god of fire, the priest of the gods and the god of priests is Agni, who also happens to be the representative of the Vedic Year, the Sacrifice. Thea calls the year the child of the Sun, “an involved flame of the luminous Truth.” The entire purpose begins to unfold in the third triad of signs, whereas the early part of the story covering the first six signs reads like a popular young adults’ novel, for example, Harry Potter comes to mind. In the Magical Carousel the children are aspects of Agni, or “Aeon of Greek tradition who initially had to ‘open the way for the Sun.’” Thea states that the Rig Veda is also a zodiacal odyssey. But seeing what should be obvious is not because the scales have not yet fallen from our eyes. In her own words, also from page 60 she says, “We have so lost sight of the light, however, that the origins of the hymns themselves are unknown to us. The Vedic sages are now mythical figures: we alone are firmly fixed in reality!”
When analyzing the images that represent the signs, whether those representations appear in the holy scriptures of the Hymns of the Rig Veda, or in the script of the zodiac, “the seeker can readily understand that the process described in both tales is the same.” The eighth stage is Scorpio, power, or the Light which becomes “hoarded,” according to the ancient tale. In response to the fading light in Libra, powers are hungrily amassed and stored, accumulated, and hidden away. Taurus stands opposite Scorpio in the natural progression of the signs. In the Rig Veda, the ‘miserly hoarder’ of energy, of light, of power, is referred to as go which means cow in Sanskrit. The sign of the Cow is Taurus and is indeed opposite Scorpio. However, Thea teaches that go also means ray, as in — ray of the sun, of light. Interestingly, the Sun is exalted in Aries, which is conjunct Taurus. Thus, the shape of the Taurus glyph is a fitting description of the process, of an explosion of light in Aries that is captured and contained within Taurus. In Taurus, the Moon is exalted, whereas the Moon is in its fall in Scorpio. In Libra, the Sun is in its fall, unlike Aries, where it is exalted.
The significance of Saturn is demonstrative in how the light the miserly Panis hoard is let out of its pen. In Taurus, there is the act of partaking of the fruit of a “very special tree” in the Edenesque garden of Matter. Now, the children must participate at a deeper level and delve “into the unknown regions and find the source that feeds that Tree.”
The commentaries discuss the Tree of Taurus as the tree of immortal life; “it is the very special, penned-in object of Taurus, the sign of matter”. Concepts of sacred trees appear throughout world history across cultures, and often relate to immortality, or fertility. The Epic of Gilgamesh discovered in cylinder seals is an ancient Akkadian example (2390–2249 BCE). The quest for immortality was a common goal in the ancient world, and variably shared in religious mythology. The Magical Carousel presents a new vision, or an updated mythos intent on transforming a worn and tired religiosity that is as we speak wrapped up in nostalgic thinking, vying for a comeback in many forms, including astrology. Continuing with the commentaries, another level develops, like one of those old polaroid photographs. We begin to “… understand that the secret of immortality is to be found in matter itself. But the source that feeds the penned-in Tree is water, yet in Scorpio the flow is blocked, and a poisonous stagnation sets in. This stagnation also sets in an intense accumulation of energy. Now and then the accumulation reaches its limits and release is demanded.” Numerous ways are made to ‘release’ this energy not in the least, which is the sex act, but for the purposes of the goal, these attempts are superficial and do not go deep enough… The drums heard and felt during this scene awaken the primal desires, like a common thread throughout all human history, and in all of us, irresistibly aching to for release.
The magnetic hold of the rhythmic dance, its allure and attraction preceded the ritualistically intense drama, and heightened anticipation of the stinger rising in preparation to strike. “Her copulation with the Scorpion is the source of her power and the means by which she keeps her subjects within the limits of her finite realm.” An irresistible pull casts a spell OVER ALL, hypnotizing participants “by her captivating power”.
Indulgences of the lower chakras depletes the human being “of the energy that can be utilized for the attainment of the higher goal.” Of course, procreation is a means to keep the “quest” alive, and to pass on this proclivity to search for the Philosopher’s Stone into posterity. What is suggested here is that there is something more than all of this. Something more than merely propagating the human species for survival’s sake, a mania which presently is being pursued in near desperation, out of fear, and misunderstanding of the “true nature of death, the real function of sex and the rightful connection that must be made in order to know liberation and experience a higher life.”
If this weren’t enough for a practicing astrologer like me, there is much more just ahead. Thea connects the Golden Sword that Pom-pom earned in Libra, to the crown he had won in Leo. We learned that in Virgo the children renounced the crown, indicating their conviction to a higher path which brought them to the scale of Libra, and Pom-pom needing the Golden Sword to balance his weight against the weight of Val. Thea refers to these symbolic values as Energy and Mass. “The Sword is thence the sublimation of the energy, the materialization of the fire of the King of Day into the power of Truth that is sufficient unto itself to slay the Adversary, the forces of inertia.”
An important insight emerges into the nature of Scorpio holding resistant energy. Libra, we recall is representative of the balancing force of gravity, contraction (Saturn’s exaltation), symbolized by the Pendulum. Resistance is really a reactionary energy that is a “force that exists not in itself” but in answer to the power of Inertia. The movement distances itself from the equilibrium in Libra, and moves toward resisting, or stopping the forward progression, arresting the evolution of consciousness.
The jumping off point in Scorpio introduces exogenous elements that move us instinctually, but complications quickly arise, the allure of control, power, and ecstasy beckons. Life is tempting, whatever mysterious substance lures the heart or groin, or both, to experience release from the “pain, misery, and suffering, albeit softened from time to time by the solace of human joys and physical ecstasies;” this is the story that needs to be told. The antidote we learn corresponds with the silver heart shaped lockets placed around the children’s necks and contain a mysterious liquid, Innocence, and Love. Pom-pom represents innocence and Val represents the power of love. Still, there is much more to come. “This is not the full power as yet, and hence the lockets they receive that contain the potion are silver, not gold. The process of unveiling of the soul power is just beginning: the liberation from the hold of the forces of inertia is only the initial stage in the process of divinization or the full unveiling of the Divine in matter.”
As an aside, since this post has become gargantuan, sync it up some theme music to go along with your reading. Ed Sheeran’s Stop the Rain pairs well with the opening, and then Thirty Seconds to Mars’ The Kill… fits in anywhere…the chapter opens with the rain that won’t cease and progresses predictably, toward the mystery and seduction of the raised stinger. Both songs happened to show up on my playlist this morning. There are no accidents!
Readers who take these teachings forward and learn more about The Gnostic Circle, which is what the details of the story describe, are introduced to the concept of the “the triangle transformed into the sphere.” The locket the children receive is silver, heart shaped (triangular), and “must be transmuted into the higher form and the golden essence.”
What follows are extended quotes that I’ve decided to hold back and not reveal, first because I’ve already exceeded my quota for quoting Thea directly. And these extended quotes are difficult to put into my own words. She goes into some depth explaining how The Magical Carousel is also descriptive of the alchemical process of “the great seekers of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.” This observation is tied into cauda Pavonis, or the Peackock’s Tail and the national bird of India. Anyone interested in these remarks can turn to page 63 of the commentaries or shoot me an email and I’ll share the hidden blocks with you. The regenerative process in Scorpio is described as the transmutation of the sex drive for the purpose of realizing immortality. I must confess that when I first learned of this it was a mind-blowing concept, but then suddenly the necessity and revelatory nature of her realization got my attention. Her work is next level “woke.”
The knowledge pours forth from this chapter like a deluge described in the opening scene. There is so much to take in, and it is so concentrated that it is difficult to summarize without flat out copying everything word.
Pom-pom is a new kind of hero archetype. But unlike the legend of the King’s son, the one born at Tintagel Castle, and conceived under conditions of duplicity and subterfuge, the hero in The Magical Carousel is born into innocence. Hayala recognizes the boy’s significance since he is in possession of the sword, and is drawn to capturing his power, making it her own.
Symbols connect through time and through legends, in such a way as to tell a story that is completely sensible. The glyph of Virgo connects to the glyph of Scorpio for example in identical ways, except that the energy, which is represented as the “three-and-a-half-coiled Kundalini serpent,” is turned inward in Virgo, “the power is totally enclosed.” The energy finds release in Scorpio as an arrow tip forms, and juts out of the symbol, but the recondite meaning isn’t necessarily symbolic of the sex act because it “leads not to liberation but to death.” Note that when the progression comes to “Sagittarius the energy is completely sublimated, the coiled Kundalini is no longer trapped in the base of the spine at the service of the lower nature.”
Ancient spiritual traditions, Tantra, or Toltec, for example, considered the path of the Warrior the most challenging. Carlos Castaneda said it well:
“Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge. A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges.”
~ Carlos Castaneda
The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death, and the Universe, (1998), Quotations from “Tales of Power” (Chapter 10)
A common theme in these traditions is coming face to face with Death. The goddess character of Scorpio symbolizes “this mysterious yet captivating power, the vital energy in its fullest play. She is cat-like, serpent -like, — both creatures’ representative of the vital force. The Serpent is, moreover, the symbol of the force of evolution, the energy that carries the movement forward. It is the energy of Time, and the temptation Hayala offers, if succumbed to by the children, will lock them forever in the sterile circuits of unconscious Time.”
Val is a symbolic representation in the story of Earth itself. She is the “third principle and her weight is the Measure, that mass with consequential force of gravity that determines the weight or the power of the Golden Sword.” What is being discussed at this point in the commentaries are extremely deep and profound principles, showing profound knowledge, hidden in the stories and myths of ancient traditions. These things correspond with Scorpio, and as the complement to Taurus, “the keeper of these secrets.” Hayala hoards power, Knowledge. “But to compel her to release the power the inferior temptations must be overcome, which on the path bring only secondary occult knowledge, magic, and the numerous siddhis attained through the practice of most of the known paths of yoga.” The name Hayala is itself mysterious, and according to Eida Goodman the name “evokes encouragement, cautiousness, and hope,” and in the story Hayala casts spells, and there is something for everyone, a spell to fit every temperament of the living soul.
Whether it is the occult practitioner or the realized yogi, in the realm of Scorpio their powers are trapped, and they cannot emerge from this sphere since they are captivated by the charm and mesmerized by the allure of her power.
Another “block,” or paragraph goes hidden beneath these words as I type. It references a “complete fusion of all the dimensions of universal being in a perpetual state of renewal.” Scorpio is clearly alive and well here both in form and content, and speaks to the water of life, being the second water sign.
The children in The Magical Carousel represent “the cell and its nuclear atomic components of a new light.” A profound story that tells the tale about a quest for immortality, decades before Harry Potter took the world by storm on his quest to prevent the sorcerer’s stone from falling into the wrong hands, Voldemort. And, in fact, The Magical Carousel might well have been the story board that guided J.K. Rowlings musings. Voldemort as Hayala, for example, in a not-so-subtle correspondence where we learn from fanficdom that there is such a thing as Fem!Voldemort; Voldemort in the Harry Potter series does indeed possess the attributes and qualities of Hayala. And Pom-pom, like Harry, embodies “the filius philosophorum, the philosopher’s son, or lapis philosophorum, the philosopher’s stone, the aurum, gold, the Son, the Salvator, the materia prima.”
The narrative has developed a long way from Aries, and at this point in the commentaries Thea quotes the eloquent voice of antiquity, the mother of all alchemical writings, Maria Prophetissa, from her dialogs with Aros (whom she points out were most likely Isis and Horus); she says, “One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the One who emerges out of the Third in the form of the Fourth.”
Then an extraordinary idea is introduced, that the story is itself a biographical tale of the lives of the children. “This is the King’s son, hidden under a sea of pillows and veils,” she says, and “a biographical tale of the alchemical process experienced on Earth in the lives of the persons the children symbolize.”
Scorpio depicts a land where there is a fusion between fire and water, the land described in the story is rocky and resembles the land of the Panis described in the Rig Veda, the hoarder of light and who stole the rays of the Sun. What is locked in the stone is the supreme light, and the intense heat that accumulates from an excess of Mars energy creates the steam and fog that covers the land. “Here we have an important process of alchemy depicted: the marriage of fire and water.” Recall that the story was written prior to any knowledge of the Vedas and yet the shared significances are pronounced. Similar landscapes, “light hidden in a cave” where the children hid in the beginning of the chapter, where they also meet the Scorpion. We are also reminded that Malamulapaga from Taurus lived in a cave and that Taurus is indeed the opposite sign of Scorpio.
Thea links up the theory of Creation presented in the Vedas in the next section of the commentaries with the Zodiac, which I will throw some shade on here as well. She ties these principles together seamlessly with words and logic that is beyond mere mental comprehension. So, when you’re ready let me know. I share these words privately. I keep them here in my cave (in a manner of speaking).
The commentaries for this chapter close by describing the shattering of the rock of the Panis to free the immortal waters. A heroic deed mirrored by the Centaur’s flaming arrows which light up the “the primitive calls of a body of darkness.” And Thea concludes her notes with this; “The major component of the cell is water. This Water must fuse with the Fire if immortality is to be known.”
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