The hidden light of God
The realization of the Self in Leo prepares for the recognition in Virgo of the hidden divinity within each human being, the Christ principle or buddhi which is found at the heart of even the tiniest atom of matter—what the poet Robert Browning called “the imprisoned splendour”. For a very long time in the evolutionary growth of the soul, this essential yet deeply buried spiritual essence remains concealed within dense matter. The role of Virgo in the evolutionary process is to shield, nurture and finally reveal this hidden reality. While it’s concealed within every form awaiting manifestation, the human form is uniquely equipped “to make tangible and objective that for which the whole creative process was intended”, Alice Bailey’s writings say.
This process is much like that of gestation, as is implied in the keynote for Virgo: I am the mother and the child. I, God, I, matter am. The mother aspect protects the germ of the Christ life, just as matter guards and cherishes the hidden soul, and thus another keynote is also posited for Virgo: “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. Within every human being, no matter the stage of their evolutionary development, this promise exists. To recognize it within another life, even the most wretched of one’s fellow beings, is a great gift and a powerful service. It was said of the psychologist and philosopher William James that he had this “gift of imagination. James saw others and their actions from within, and for the time being felt the same partiality for their world as they themselves did”. As one whose life was touched by James said, “In all my life I found scarce a soul that seemed to comprehend naturally…the mainspring of my life better than he did.” (A Stroll with William James by Jacques Barzun).
Esoteric teaching views the interior light within every human being and every atom of matter as the hidden light of God and a powerful transformative force in spiritual development. As the seeker learns to transmute the lower forces into the higher and to transfer the consciousness into the higher levels of the mind, the seeker’s own nature becomes transformed, Alice Bailey wrote. “He will then become a channel for the light of the Ego, and for the illumination of buddhi to pour through for the saving of the race, and the lighting of those who stumble in dark places. He must demonstrate the laws of radioactivity in his own life on the physical plane. His life must begin to radiate, and to have a magnetic effect upon others. By this I mean he will begin to influence that which is imprisoned in others, for he will reach—through his own powerful vibrations—the hidden centre in each one.” This isn’t the force of the magnetic personality but something much higher, for it refers to that spiritual radiation which is only responded to and realized by those who are themselves becoming aware of the spiritual centre within the heart. “At this stage the man is recognised as one who can speak occultly ‘heart to heart.’ He becomes a stimulator of the heart centre in his brother, and one who arouses men into activity for others”, she wrote.
This radiant light, when fully realized, creates the halo or aura of saints, but it exists as a germ of potency at the center of every atom, awaiting stimulation. The first indication of its awakening is said to be the sense of responsibility, and surely the threats posed by the world’s present crises are fostering this recognition. “Today it would seem that we are entering the eighth month of gestation”, Alice Bailey wrote, prior to the birth of a new age and a new consciousness of humanity’s place and role within the evolutionary plan. Surely the present climate crisis is one urgent alarm bell awakening humanity’s sense of responsibility to nurture the well-being of all the kingdoms that share the Earth. I am the mother and the child, Virgo declares. I, God, I, matter am. I am both the guardian of form and the manifestation of the soul, and therein lies my service.
