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Malvin Artley has been a practising astrologer for the past 10 years. He is an accredited member of the American Federation of Astrologers.
Malvin is the author of Bodies of Fire: An Exploration of the Lesser Chakra System. He has authored numerous articles and was a member of the faculty of the University of the Seven Rays, a non-profit organization dedicated to the teaching of the Trans-Himalayan tradition as expressed through the books of Alice Bailey, Helena Blavatsky and others.
His primary focus over the past 25 years has been on the sciences as they express occultism and with bridging work between the two. His special interests are the human subtle energy system and all the chakras, or energy centres, physics and technology, astronomy and all aspects of Chinese occultism. He has done extensive work with Chinese astrology and the cycles they use and seeks to synthesize the great Western and Oriental systems on such matters.
Malvin lives in Adelaide, South Australia. He also works in the engineering trades and sends out periodic emails about astrological happenings and developments. Click here to subscribe to Malvin's periodic letters.

The Christ Festival
Subtle Meanings of the Full Moon in Libra

Malvin Artley looks at the meanings inherent in the current Full Moon in Libra, the Christ Festival. This potent Full Moon is the Full Moon for Aries (since the Moon is always full when in the opposite sign to the Sun). Aries is the sign of new beginnings and the start of a new life, which is the symbolic meaning of the Christ. Malvin also publishes a regular astrological newsletter, to which you can subscribe by clicking the link at the end of this article.

Greetings Friends!

This past zodiacal year has literally flown by and we once again find ourselves at the beginning of the peak time of the spiritual year. This full moon marks the Christ Festival—the full moon of Aries, and it is the time when the next stage of the Teaching for humanity and the angelic hosts is given out. As we know, these next three full moons are the peak of the spiritual year and are the time of the greatest potency in the relation between the inner realms and humanity, not to mention the subhuman kingdoms.

There is a veritable feast of opportunities for inner growth on offer this year, starting with the Aries festival. Following quickly on the heels of that is a blue new moon (there are two new moons in Aries this year) which is also an eclipse, presaging the major eclipse of the Wesak Moon in May. All the naked-eye planets have been visible in the night sky of late, which means we are all getting to have a very good look at our personal lives, and a new 8-year cycle of Venus starts in June just after the Festival of Goodwill—a very good omen indeed. So, just within the space of a few months there will be a very large amount on offer for those inclined to the inner life. In all, it promises to be a very good year in a great many ways, although events might initially seem contrary to that forecast.

Before we launch into a consideration of this festival, though, I thought it might be a good idea to highlight some of what was said about last year’s dispensation from Aries in order to give a greater sense of continuity and flow. Last Christ Festival, if you recall, was a particularly tense forecast. Mars was very active, we were at war, the world was quite polarized and the general trend was for there to be a great deal of learning for humanity through the resolution of conflicts and of polarization in thinking. The term I used was “increase in awareness through struggle”. I think if we look back over the year we will, in fact, find that has been the case. All of us have seemed to have a particularly intense time of internal struggle as we have been called upon to evidence a greater spiritual self-responsibility, with the attendant rising up of deeply buried patterns that have lain dormant or unresolved within us for years. Saturn was opposing Pluto in that chart, so the scene was set for what was just described. There has been a dynamic shaking and sifting in the lives of people everywhere. Much that has been obstructing the expression of the Soul in individuals and nations has either dropped away or has been stripped away.

Out of Our Comfort Zone

People no longer look to their leaders for guidance nearly so much as they did before because they finally see their leaders as being human and thus flawed as we all are. This is a good thing, because it shows that humanity everywhere is beginning to think and act for itself—we are all a little bit more self-responsible and pro-active rather than passive. There is now a general sense of skepticism in the world over the motives of governments everywhere that was not so much in evidence before the Iraq War. The regimes in the “Coalition of the Willing” are in trouble, as the chart for the war suggested (most of what was indicated about that war has since come to pass). We have all been forced out of our comfort zones to a greater degree, as Mars often does for us, but this brings us eventually to a point of greater objectivity as we take our risks, make our inevitable mistakes and learn through “the school of the streets”—experience, in other words.

For those who kept up their spiritual rites throughout the year, I believe they will find themselves much further ahead along their respective paths in life than they were this time last year upon due reflection, for Mars is also the Quickener and pushes us forward against the odds (or, perhaps “probabilities” is the better term). A great many relationships were either quickened or ended last year as well. The Christ Festival, in a very real sense, is about naught but relationships, especially between the persona and the higher Self. With this background in mind, then, let us have a look at what is in store from the “classroom” and our Teachers this year. I can only but give out seed thoughts in such a short space, but due meditation will yield results.

Nature Spirits

The Aries full moon occurs on the 5th of April 2004 at 9:05 PM AEST. In the figure we see the Sun trining Pluto, the Moon trining Neptune and the Sun sextiling Neptune. This will be a very different dispensation to last year. Whereas last year’s indication was one of struggle, this year will bring insight through stillness instead of struggle through the Neptune aspects and resolution through recovery of past gifts and through healing, as indicated by the trine to Pluto. The degrees of the Sun and Moon in regards to this are revealing and read thus:

Sun: “Nature spirits are seen at work in the light of sunset.” 16 Aries
Moon: “After a storm, a boat landing stands in need of repair.” 16 Libra

Nature spirits are the little beings who build, maintain and repair all that we see around us, including the human body. I have spoken of them in other letters. They are most easily seen after dark because they come out of their domains after the light of day when the cycle of the sun ebbs. Their work is ceaseless. But, more importantly, their work is joyful, for they know not the pain and suffering of the human realms. They build only according to Law and do not have the rebelliousness of the human spirit within them. Encounters with them often instill this sense of joy that they carry. Animals, and often children, see them as a matter of course, and they are part of the very real work of magic that goes on in the world behind the scenes. They are, in fact, the agents of magic and act as the intermediaries between the greater creative forces in the world and what are known as the elementals—the basis of all the material forms that we see (although we rarely see the true form of an elemental).

In part two of this article, Malvin descibes the way we can work together with nature spirits, under the influence of Neptune and Pluto patterns. The role of fear and terrorism is one in which our inner nature can shine through in the light of healing and service. Read part two of The Christ Festival

Malvin Artley is an accredited member of the American Federation of Astrologers. His primary focus over the past 25 years has been on the sciences as they express occultism and with bridging work between the two. His special interests in those fields are the human subtle energy system and all the chakras, or energy centres, physics and technology, astronomy and all aspects of Chinese occultism.
He sends out periodic emails about astrological happenings and developments. These email messages are sent as a gift and a sharing. They are sent to people of many persuasions, not just astrologers. Blessings. Click here to subscribe to Malvin's periodic letters.

The Christ Festival: part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | Salvation | World Service | Hidden Glory