Awakening to the Beauty of Group Life:
Understanding the significance of the energies of Aquarius is of interest not only to those who were born in Aquarius; it’s imperative that we all seek to deepen our understanding, because Aquarius will govern the coming 2000-2500 year cycle. Already we can see signs of its impact in the changes now occurring throughout all the kingdoms of our planet.
The pervasiveness of Aquarius’s influence is augmented by the intangible and thus far greater potency it wields. In Aquarius, Alice Bailey wrote, the material, earthly quality of Capricorn becomes “dissolved into the air”. There is no center of circumscribed influence but only two lines of energy, as the astrological symbol for Aquarius depicts. In the human physical body, this unimpeded flow of energy governs the circulation of the blood, giving us a vivid image of how the Aquarian server distributes the life force throughout the entire human family. The keynote of Aquarius expresses this free sharing of life-bearing energy thus: Water of life am I, poured forth for thirsty men [and women]. While Leo, the polar opposite of Aquarius, develops the sense of the self, the individuality, Aquarius extends the focus of identity to the whole of humanity. In Aquarius, we’re told, the individual awakens to the beauty of group life and to the individual’s responsibility towards the group, and begins to live life by dedicating all personal resources to the service of humanity.
Just as water cannot be held back without disastrous consequences, the fact of the one Humanity makes it impossible to set limits on one’s field of service. A basic spiritual law governing this truth is the Law of Group Life. Our group relations must be seen as including family and nation but extending well beyond to include humanity itself. Paradoxically, perhaps the power of this development is made clearest in the intense resistance we see in some quarters, manifesting in the demand for individual freedom from group, social and governmental restraints and, on a broader scale, in the virulent tribalism and nationalism we see in the world at present. Yet these reactions must inevitably be only temporary, for the thrust of evolution is towards internationalism, cultural sharing, religious unity and economic interdependence–all of which, Alice Bailey wrote, are “indications of the energies of soul life upon the physical plane and within the human family. Hence, the conflict of ideals in the world today”.
Through the worldwide pandemic, barriers are coming down as we witness the universality of humanity’s suffering. No group or nation is immune from it, making the resolution of this crisis possible only through international cooperation and sharing. Humanity is being asked, as the Apostle Paul urged his followers, to bear one another’s burdens. As we strive to understand the cause and meaning of the world’s suffering, the thrust of Aquarian energies will make this not only possible but inevitable, for the commonality of this human experience is fostering identification with all beings, leading to what Alice Bailey called “a recognition of the divine germ in all forms”.
A wonderful image for this achievement is given us in the Buddhist concept of “Indra’s Net”, “hung by some artificer”, in which a single glittering jewel is hung at every node of the net, “each jewel reflecting all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number” (The Avatamsaka Sutra). This vision of universality gives us a template for imagining human consciousness in the Aquarian age. The growth of group relationships, group unity, has its roots in group meditation, which strengthens individual recognition of responsibility and personal contribution to the group life. When we dedicate what might seem our meager efforts to the beauty of group life, the keynote of Aquarius takes on increasing inspiration: Water of life am I, poured forth for thirsty men [and women].
