The uses of pain
Scorpio, in esoteric teaching, is the great constellation which influences the turning point in the life of humanity as well as the individual human being. The equilibrium which was so hardly won in Libra is sorely tested in Scorpio, which creates, for the spiritual seeker, a sense of finality, of culmination—a “last stand” of the personal, separated self against the requirements of the soul. The nature of the spiritual path, whose essence is not the stability of still waters but of readiness for battle, requires courage and indomitable persistence. In Scorpio all the resources of the dedicated aspirant are tested repeatedly, for only in this way does the sincere dedication of the soul demonstrate, and the possibility of triumph become assured. This is the promise of Scorpio’s keynote: Warrior I am and from the battle I emerge triumphant.
The image of the pilgrim, so central to the spiritual path, expresses the qualities of persistence, strength of character, and courage which drive the seeker forward even when the way ahead seems impenetrable. Courage is needed to meet the tests of Scorpio, not only in dramatic ways but in the quiet testing of “going against the tide” of one’s closest ties; in the courage of sustaining faith in humanity during periods when glamour and delusion seem to have won the battle for human minds; and perhaps most difficult of all, the cycles of self-doubt when the readiness to move forward in darkness is brought into question. This includes the awakening of the memory aspect, which had been deeply hidden throughout much of evolution. At a certain stage of the spiritual path, when the energy of the soul is sufficient to excavate ancient, unresolved aspects of the self that await dispelling, all that has accumulated from an ancient past and created a barrier to the light is brought to the surface of consciousness for recognition.
The arousing of memory is a challenge not only for the individual seeker, but for the larger humanity when a certain stage of development has been reached, and this might help to explain the revelatory nature of the present times—revelatory in the way that overturned soil can reveal what had been buried, forgotten or ignored. The conflict created as the spiritual energies of the new age pour in, while the forces of the outgoing age still linger, is generating turmoil on a global scale. In such a time an instinctive human urge is to turn to autocrats to sort things out. However, such is the advancement of human intelligence that human beings must now take collective responsibility for resolving the world’s dilemmas. The reaction to what is coming to light for recognition and atonement in today’s world is evoking denial from some quarters and disillusionment from others; the first a refusal to face what is being made evident, while the second manifests in pain caused by the shattering of trusted ideals and assumptions. “Shattering” is indeed the proper word to describe the effects of both, but as the keynote of Scorpio assures, triumph is the gift earned through the experience of pain and struggle successfully handled.
It is one thing to deal with personal pain, but the power to tune in on the world pain and to be conscious of world sorrow is a vital part of spiritual development. “It takes a strong soul to know the sources and roots of pain”, Alice Bailey wrote, and this offers an insight into the struggle that many spiritual seekers are experiencing. For some, the urge to turn away from the world turmoil, to view it as “too negative”, “too depressing”, is understandable, but “those who refuse to share in the world karma and pain will find their entire progress inevitably slowed down”, we’re told, “for they will have put themselves outside the great tide of spiritual force now sweeping throughout the world”. Something invaluable to the soul is achieved by facing and incorporating the pain of the world within one’s innermost being as an integral part of the human experience, when the intention is to lift humanity’s burdens and to be a dependable link in the great chain of being encompassing our planetary life.
The writings of Alice Bailey affirm, “The uses of pain are many, and they lead the human soul out of darkness into light, out of bondage into liberation, out of agony into peace”. “Use pain”, an ancient spiritual writing declares . “Call for the fire. The fires burn the hindering forms which hold the pilgrim back and so bring release…”, for “the fires destroy the veil, hiding the Father’s face”. May we each nurture a fire of such intensity that many can warm themselves in its glow and kindle their own little flame.
