More Thoughts on Cancer

Creating a sheath for the life of God

Esoteric teaching views the study of astrology as a depiction of the growth of consciousness leading to the recognition of relationships. In this progressive unfoldment, Cancer is one of two gates or doors. Through its gate souls pass into outer manifestation, into form. Because of its strong affiliation with forms, Cancer is sometimes called the mother of forms, which seems appropriate because the Latin word mater is the root of both “mother” and “matter”. The other gate, Capricorn, is allied with the opposite polarity, father or spirit. In the esoteric teaching of Alice Bailey, “Man is the product of the approximation (at present imperfect) of the two poles of Spirit (the Father in Heaven) and of matter (the Mother). The result of this union is an individualised Son of God, or unit of the divine Self. He is the sheath for the life of God”, she wrote. This destiny underlies the keynote of Cancer: I build a lighted house and therein dwell.

The fulfillment of this goal begins with manifestation in Cancer, “the gate which stands wide open”, in Alice Bailey’s words, but it marks only the beginning of an evolutionary journey that is long and arduous: a gate “broad and easy to pass through and yet it leads unto the place of death and to that imprisonment which precedes the final revolt.” This is why reincarnation is so deeply embedded in the experience of Cancer, for the awakening of consciousness occurs only through repeated experience and the developing sense of relationship. In human terms, this recognition of relationship begins as mass or herd consciousness and progresses into self-consciousness before awakening to group consciousness. Generally speaking, we’re told that human beings stand today at the midpoint between mass and group consciousness, with a minority awakening to group relationships while the majority are emerging out of mass or herd consciousness and becoming self-conscious individuals. In this thought we find an understanding of the basis for so many of the world’s problems at this time.

To understand the distinction between herd consciousness and group consciousness, the image of a circle presents some thoughts for consideration. Does the state of consciousness form a closed circuit—an enclosed capsule of shared identity and identification beyond which there is only “the other”, or does the consciousness express a circle of relationships whose circumference is steadily expanding in ever-widening arcs? Does one think of “my people” in tribal, racial, religious or political terms, all of which concern similarity on the level of form, or is the consciousness steadily awakening to an increasingly inclusive sense of community? There are many stages of consciousness leading from the herd or mass to the individual identity and on to the group, and understanding this diversity of consciousness sheds light on the present state of the world’s struggle.

Cancer is the constellation which symbolizes the will of the mass, according to the writings of Alice Bailey. Democracy is a fertile testing ground for measuring the progression from the mass or herd to group consciousness, and the year 2024, when nearly half of the world’s people are voting in elections, is providing insight into the progression from herd to group consciousness . “Out of public opinion (which is the focused expression of the growth of mass consciousness) will emerge the mass will-to-good inherent in every individual”, Alice Bailey wrote; “for this humanity must work and wait.” Esoteric teaching reminds us that we must maintain “a vital and sure belief in humanity as a whole. There must be no pessimism as to the future of mankind or distress over the disappearance of the old order. The good, the true and the beautiful is on its way, and for it mankind is responsible, and not some outer divine intervention.” With that assurance in mind, let us work in group meditation.


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