The choice of today's book image is fortuitous because my questions today are largely inspired (iirc) from lesson 14 of that same book.
1 (Neptune in Gemini). The notion that a planet is exalted in the sign of the Star Logos involved in creating it was quite interesting and provided (and continues to provide) food for contemplation, so thank you for introducing me to this notion. The image associated with the lesson appears to show which signs exalt the planets, and this leads me to Neptune. Neptune here is implied to be exalted in Gemini, and I struggle to see the link. Now, I am biased by my previous studies with the Builders of the Adytum and meditation on their material which has Neptune exalted in Leo. This attribution has always clicked easily for me for a few reasons such as the creative inspirations of Neptune finding a home in the outward-expressing Leo, (on the negative side) the glamour and illusions of Neptune strengthening the ego of Leo (Hollywood, anyone?), and (on a more spiritual, symbolic sense), the self-centeredness of Leo perhaps reminding Neptune that the 'I AM' is the only ocean worth dissolving one's self in. These ideas are just products of my meditations; I don't present them here as dogma.
However, meditating on Neptune in Gemini provides links that I feel are somewhat tenuous and don't click as strongly as those of Neptune in Leo (again, possible bias from previous familiarity). The collectivist emphasis of Neptune seems to mesh with the sociability and interactivity of the Twins, and Neptune's association with Key 12 of the Major Arcana (the Hanged Man) suggests ideas of inversion and paradox that also seem to mesh with the Twins (both as they present in mythology and human personalities). Aside from that, I'm not seeing much. To be clear, I'm not seeking validation for my views nor am I seeking to argue. I just would like to hear your thoughts on Neptune in Gemini. :)
2 (The Domicile of the Gods). The paradigm present in OPW presents some interesting challenges to my previous views of the universe and my favourite meditation themes involve either reconciling or coming to peace with conflicting information/beliefs, so again, thank you for your excellent book. If the Solar Logos dwells alone on the Divine Plane and the Star Logoi reside in the Causal Plane, then where do the gods of polytheism reside? My first thought was the Spiritual Plane, and yet while some Gods are presented as being bound by prophecies and fate, it feels like most mythologies present the Gods as being masters of fate rather than subjects of it (I could be wrong here). With this in mind, it feels wrong to put the Gods in a plane that is below that of the causal plane of the stars. So where do the Gods and Goddesses reside? Do they even exist in the paradigm put forth by OPW?
3 (Evolution of Planetary Spirits). There's this idea that's been slowly gaining momentum in my head. Planets have 'evolved' material, etheric, and astral bodies as our solar system has aged. The idea popped into my head that the number of these bodies corresponds to the number of soul swarms that have come before ours (ie Lords of Flame, Forms, and Mind). On to my question, as souls on a planet work to evolve mental bodies, does the host planetary spirit also start evolving a mental body? I am aware that the planets have their attributed angels and archangels that are said to function on the mental plane and beyond, yet by virtue of being named angels, this nominally implies that these are forces sent from above to mediate powers rather than bodies intrinsically evolved or built up by the planet itself, hence leading to my question.
4 (Divine Sparks and the I-consciousness). I try to avoid engaging in syncretism as I believe it can do violence to the systems involved, but I can't help but see similarities between the Spiritual Plane and Binah (as the root of perception) and between the Causal Plane and Chokmah (as the root of action/will). This tentatively leads me not to equate but at least to compare the Divine Plane with Kether and more specifically the Divine sparks with the Yechidah. If I posit that the Divine spark, like the Yechidah, is the source of I-consciousness (ie the feeling of being or of I AM), then this leads me to wonder about the experience of entities that are said to lack Divine Sparks such as elementals. My question; might they be compared to chatbots or LLMs in that they can reason, solve problems, communicate, and display a conceptual understanding of their own existence while utterly lacking an experiential feeling of Being or Selfhood?
I really got carried away with the length of this post so thank you for your patience. I have one more question, but I shall contain my enthusiasm and withhold it until next Monday.
Thank you for your time and all the best to you and the commentariat,
no subject
The choice of today's book image is fortuitous because my questions today are largely inspired (iirc) from lesson 14 of that same book.
1 (Neptune in Gemini). The notion that a planet is exalted in the sign of the Star Logos involved in creating it was quite interesting and provided (and continues to provide) food for contemplation, so thank you for introducing me to this notion. The image associated with the lesson appears to show which signs exalt the planets, and this leads me to Neptune. Neptune here is implied to be exalted in Gemini, and I struggle to see the link. Now, I am biased by my previous studies with the Builders of the Adytum and meditation on their material which has Neptune exalted in Leo. This attribution has always clicked easily for me for a few reasons such as the creative inspirations of Neptune finding a home in the outward-expressing Leo, (on the negative side) the glamour and illusions of Neptune strengthening the ego of Leo (Hollywood, anyone?), and (on a more spiritual, symbolic sense), the self-centeredness of Leo perhaps reminding Neptune that the 'I AM' is the only ocean worth dissolving one's self in. These ideas are just products of my meditations; I don't present them here as dogma.
However, meditating on Neptune in Gemini provides links that I feel are somewhat tenuous and don't click as strongly as those of Neptune in Leo (again, possible bias from previous familiarity). The collectivist emphasis of Neptune seems to mesh with the sociability and interactivity of the Twins, and Neptune's association with Key 12 of the Major Arcana (the Hanged Man) suggests ideas of inversion and paradox that also seem to mesh with the Twins (both as they present in mythology and human personalities). Aside from that, I'm not seeing much. To be clear, I'm not seeking validation for my views nor am I seeking to argue. I just would like to hear your thoughts on Neptune in Gemini. :)
2 (The Domicile of the Gods). The paradigm present in OPW presents some interesting challenges to my previous views of the universe and my favourite meditation themes involve either reconciling or coming to peace with conflicting information/beliefs, so again, thank you for your excellent book. If the Solar Logos dwells alone on the Divine Plane and the Star Logoi reside in the Causal Plane, then where do the gods of polytheism reside? My first thought was the Spiritual Plane, and yet while some Gods are presented as being bound by prophecies and fate, it feels like most mythologies present the Gods as being masters of fate rather than subjects of it (I could be wrong here). With this in mind, it feels wrong to put the Gods in a plane that is below that of the causal plane of the stars. So where do the Gods and Goddesses reside? Do they even exist in the paradigm put forth by OPW?
3 (Evolution of Planetary Spirits). There's this idea that's been slowly gaining momentum in my head. Planets have 'evolved' material, etheric, and astral bodies as our solar system has aged. The idea popped into my head that the number of these bodies corresponds to the number of soul swarms that have come before ours (ie Lords of Flame, Forms, and Mind). On to my question, as souls on a planet work to evolve mental bodies, does the host planetary spirit also start evolving a mental body? I am aware that the planets have their attributed angels and archangels that are said to function on the mental plane and beyond, yet by virtue of being named angels, this nominally implies that these are forces sent from above to mediate powers rather than bodies intrinsically evolved or built up by the planet itself, hence leading to my question.
4 (Divine Sparks and the I-consciousness). I try to avoid engaging in syncretism as I believe it can do violence to the systems involved, but I can't help but see similarities between the Spiritual Plane and Binah (as the root of perception) and between the Causal Plane and Chokmah (as the root of action/will). This tentatively leads me not to equate but at least to compare the Divine Plane with Kether and more specifically the Divine sparks with the Yechidah. If I posit that the Divine spark, like the Yechidah, is the source of I-consciousness (ie the feeling of being or of I AM), then this leads me to wonder about the experience of entities that are said to lack Divine Sparks such as elementals. My question; might they be compared to chatbots or LLMs in that they can reason, solve problems, communicate, and display a conceptual understanding of their own existence while utterly lacking an experiential feeling of Being or Selfhood?
I really got carried away with the length of this post so thank you for your patience. I have one more question, but I shall contain my enthusiasm and withhold it until next Monday.
Thank you for your time and all the best to you and the commentariat,
JR