The Righteous Battle:
There is a progressive flow which can be seen in the sweep of the zodiac. The pivot point achieved in Libra creates an equilibrium in which right choices can be made, generating points of crisis in Scorpio which enable the Warrior to face the tests that lead to reorientation upon the spiritual Path and to achieve final victory.
The battlefield of Scorpio extends over a series of lives, and perhaps the greatest depiction of the depth of that struggle is found in the ancient epic, the Bhagavad Gita. Just as the tests leading to victory in Scorpio are achieved only after a point of balance between soul and body has been reached in Libra, so Arjuna, representative of the disciple, triumphed in battle only when he allowed Krishna, symbolic of the indwelling divinity, to take control. By distinguishing between the forces of the soul and the form, and by recognizing the radiant light concealed within the form, Arjuna learned “to choose the way of light and to see his form and all forms as custodians of the light”. In these words Alice Bailey expressed the outcome when the emotional desire nature is quieted and the mind is able “to pierce through its illusion and to see life true”.
As the mind achieves clarity and begins to extend its range in consciousness, an interesting phenomenon occurs. Under the Law of Action and Reaction, a reciprocal response of the expanding consciousness is to penetrate deeply into the “nether regions” below the threshold of awareness. Crises of recognition, so to speak, rise up as the power of consciousness begins to cast light into regions previously hidden from view. As the writings of Alice Bailey explain this experience, “in Scorpio, two most occult factors emerge from the past—memory and, as a consequence, the Dweller on the Threshold”. The Dweller is a term used in esoteric teaching to designate the sum total of all the personality’s characteristics which have remained unconquered and in need of redemption. When the memory aspect is activated, causing what had previously been hidden from recollection to rise to the surface, a crisis is generated…”and then—the fight is on”, she wrote.
One might think that this period of testing and awakening to the past, to memory, is a sign of unreadiness for spiritual development. In fact, however, we’re told that the rising up of the Dweller—of the unconquered residue now demanding recognition and redemption—is a sign of opportunity, both for an individual and for humanity. “Only when there is adequate fusion within humanity as a whole does the great human Dweller on the Threshold appear”, we’re told, whether in an individual sense or by revealing national, racial and planetary glamour. Does it not seem that such a point is now being reached throughout the world? If true, should—could—this painful period be viewed as an indication of progress towards a distant goal, and the almost daily revelations of the major hindrances seeking to impede progress be welcomed for the clarity they bring?
A great insight into the revelatory power of consciousness was given by the psychologist C.G. Jung when he pointed out that the shadow—the unrecognized, unredeemed aspect of the self—is a phenomenon created by light. There would be no recognition of the shadow without light. “Anyone who perceives his shadow and his light simultaneously sees himself from two sides and thus gets in the middle”, Jung said. Esoterically, this middle factor is the soul, the consciousness aspect which mediates between and eventually merges the body-form and the indwelling spirit. This realization and Krishna’s assurance to Arjuna that “nothing is better for a warrior than a righteous battle”, underscore the inspiration of Scorpio’s keynote: Warrior I am, and from the battle I emerge triumphant.
