In the ageless wisdom presentation of astrology, the twelve signs constitute a revelation of divinity, according to the writings of Alice Bailey. The first three—Aries, Taurus, and Gemini—represent the higher interlude of the spiritual year, making them a conduit for powerful inpouring spiritual energies: The Forces of Restoration at the Aries full moon, Enlightenment at the full moon of Taurus, and of Reconstruction at the Gemini full moon. Following a period of alignment, this cycle is called the higher interlude of the spiritual year. Her writings liken it to the practice of meditation, in which the stage following alignment is a moment of silent waiting, when the mind is stilled, open and receptive to impression from the highest levels of life that can be touched. It’s clear, from this, why this phase in the annual cycle of energy flow is so crucial in setting the pattern for the working out of these energies in the “lower interlude” of the spiritual year—Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius.
In Taurus a major challenge to the achieving of alignment is the potency of desire; in fact, Taurus is said to be the symbol of desire in all its phases—will, power, desire, aspiration, ambition, impulse, incentive—all express the fundamental causes of manifestation: the taking on of form. It was the Buddha who first clarified the nature of desire through the first of his Four Noble Truths: that life is dukkha, usually translated as suffering but perhaps more correctly expressed in the original language, Pali, as imbalance, that something is askew. Desire underlies all forms in nature…for that which is deeply hidden in darkness to reach the light of day; of the hidden soul to dominate and control the outer form, to transmute desire into aspiration, Alice Bailey’s teachings tell us. In fact, so potent is desire that, rather than eradicate it, it must be lifted to its highest expression as the will to achieve.
“Underlying the entire psychological problem of humanity”—desire—causes everything to be governed by some form of desire…some form of urgency towards satisfaction. This was the thrust of the Buddha’s message which led “his brother the Christ” to emphasize the necessity to seek the good of one’s neighbour rather than one’s own good. “Only the desire to serve is adequate to bring about reorientation…Service and obedience to the light within and around us are the great methods of release, Christ taught. If the urge to satisfy desire is the basic urge of form life, the urge to serve is an equally basic urge of the soul of man. In this recognition we find an insight into the keynote of Taurus: I see and when the Eye is opened, all is light.
Exacerbating this dichotomy is the increasing power of the energies pouring in from Shamballa, the center where the will of God is known. In its early stages its effects are dual, quickening the personal will, as we see in the world today, and awakening an understanding of purposeful progress. Which will gain the focus of humanity, collectively? Esoteric teaching confirms that matter is the custodian of life; that all conditions contain (perhaps deeply buried) light. Ultimately, we’re told that the “eye of the Bull” (symbol of Taurus) is the eye of revelation. “The underlying goal of the evolutionary process reveals the stupendous and sublime plan of Deity. This is the subject light reveals”, Alice Bailey’s teachings confirm. The challenge of the spiritual seeker is to cultivate aspiration in order to demonstrate that the world of forms no long controls his or her perspective on Reality but that the lessons learned through the use of form have been retained; to distinguish between what is the force of form and what are the energies coming from the soul–selfless, not concerned with fulfilling one’s personal agenda, and oriented to the need of the world.
The keynote of Taurus provides the guideline for meeting this challenge: I see and when the Eye is opened, all is light. Let us join in the worldwide meditation now underway at this higher interlude of the spiritual year.