aries

taurus

gemini

cancer

leo

virgo

libra

scorpio

sagittarius

capricorn

aquarius

pisces

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 Goodwill Festival [part 3]
Subtle Meanings of the Full Moon in Sagittarius

In this, the final part of his powerful article on the Goodwill Festival, the festival of the Full Moon in Sagittarius (Gemini's Full Moon), Malvin discusses the power of Venus and Pluto with regard to the spiritual life, as expressed through the sign Gemini. He considers the energy centres, or vortices, called Chakras, and the way they transmit and generate consciousness between the human body-mind and the world.

The alta major center is usually relatively quiescent. But when it is activated by a Pluto transit or progression we get to experience the outpicturing of psychic sediment, usually in the hours of sleep, as the karma or thoughtforms that are being released are stirred into activity once more. The lesser dragons of a person’s subterranean psychic lair are aroused. What happens then is that these aroused images are projected onto the screen of the mind’s eye and they can then be seen in dreams and meditative states. They are usually unpleasant and sometimes grotesque. They are often are tinged strongly with elements of the past, either in this life or past ones, and the person is usually aware of a background of inner unrest and of a lingering sort of psychic soil or tension. There may be physical symptoms such as trouble with respiration, panic and anxiety, erratic heartbeat, tension or tightness at the base of the skull and problems with the bowels, especially irritable bowel or constipation. People will often find that they have their own individual barometer of such a state of affairs if their body awareness is great enough.

But, of greater interest here is that the screen of the mind’s eye upon which all this fabulous visual stimuli is projected is ruled by Venus. Venus and Pluto are aspected to the Sun in both the Venus transit and the Goodwill figures. We should also note that in both figures the Sun opposes Pluto, as has been stated, and that aspect is renowned for its manifesting of subconscious projection by people under its influence. In other words, the person affected by the Sun/Pluto opposition will be prone to project their unresolved issues and reactions onto whoever they happen to be reacting and interacting with at the time. Other people are thus a mirror to such a person, showing them what needs to be resolved within themselves. Thus, by knowing what is being projected upward and outward, Venus is then able to resolve what is being shown and thus establish a clearer and stronger relation between the Soul and the little self (persona). The alta major center is resolved via Venus and the ajna center, whereas the solar plexus is resolved by having its energies raised into the heart (the act of self-sacrifice to a greater need and self-forgetfulness in service to others), which is also co-ruled by Venus and Jupiter. This whole question of planetary rulership over chakras is relative and is subject to debate. I have my own opinions and tradition in the matter and some of what I have stated here may well be disputed by some.

The other interesting side of this is that a person’s internal states are reflected back to them by their environment. Everyone’s environment and relationships therefore provide a symbolic tapestry of their inner unfolding. So, if you or someone you know is experiencing a good Pluto transit or progression it would be a good idea and exercise to take a good look at what is going on around you and the people in your life. Some symbols can be quite graphic. I just had such an experience of this myself this evening. I have been wrestling with certain things in my own nature that have been seeking resolution and, though I have gotten to the bottom of many things, certain other things nag on. Yes, I am having a particularly strong Pluto progression at the moment, thanks. I was out walking this evening and I felt pulled to go down a certain road I had never been down before. It had been a particularly hard day in the processing department and as I walked along this road I was musing over certain things I had not really wanted to face.

Facing Fear

All of a sudden I heard loud barking and six large, unhappy dogs appeared around a fence I was approaching, running straight for me, and their tails were not wagging. I always felt a fear of large dogs. Here I was alone on a country road, not a human in sight, not a stick in hand, quickly surrounded by six snarling dogs who all seemed intent on taking chunks out of me. Noone was coming to my rescue, either. Pluto experiences are like that. Where the hell are people when you need them, right?! I had to face them alone and I had to think fast. I couldn’t run, as I would have been mauled. I could show no fear, though they could see it psychically (all animals are psychically open). So, rather than try to fight them off, I chose another path. I reached the back of my hand down so the lead dog could smell it and spoke softly to them, all the while making sure that the ones behind me weren’t too close.

Before I knew it, I had six dogs all wanting my attention instead of my blood, all wanting me to pet them and have a play, so I gave them what they wanted for a time, embraced the situation in another way, and then moved on. The lead dog ended up following me home and playfully gnawed at my hand all the way. I think he was starved for attention. Rather than being his dinner, I had now found another friend on my journey. I had been taken down this road to face a fear, and I had embraced it and not had to use my traveler’s insurance. It was a brilliant lesson for me in facing fear and in befriending enmity, and the comradery that can come of it. Yes, it was symbolic, but it was my symbol and that is what I got from the experience, though the casual observer might have thought me rather silly. It is an experience I shall always carry with me, but I can tell you that the top is coming off a cold one after I finish this article!

The Occult Path: the Science of the Soul

Pluto allied to Venus can bring rich rewards and valuable knowledge to anyone open to the experience, and we will all get our chance in the coming weeks and over the next 8 years. I know it seems as though I am harping on this, but people should really be aware that Venus is not all softness and attractive energy. It governs a large part of the occult Path for our humanity and, indeed, is that path, symbolically speaking. Venus rules the science of the Soul and the methods of achieving that alignment, and spiritual life is all about people and the messiness than can and does come of those interactions. It is the most blissful kind of life a person can have – and the hardest.

With this we come to the crux of the meaning of this festival – this particularly human festival. What is goodwill? To many people it is a noble, but largely unattainable ideal in the humdrum and busi-ness of modern life. There seems to be little evidenced of it in the world today. The lust for greed and power seems as strong if not stronger than ever. People seem too self-absorbed to care about anyone else. But this is all surface stuff and is what we get from the media (ruled by Gemini). As I have stated, in my travels and my conversation with people I can tell you unequivocally that the spirit of goodwill is alive and well in the world and that more and more people are awakening to its power and its necessity every day. And, the key to it all is the realization of community, of interrelatedness, of communication between all types of people, and of the recognition of the simple human dignity that should be afforded to all people, no matter what their station in life. “Love your neighbor as you would want to be loved yourself” (or words to that effect), was the simple aphorism which inaugurated the era of right human relations under the impulse of Venus some 2000 years ago. It has only gained in potency as the centuries have rolled onward.

This particular festival falls under the auspices of the office of the Mahachohan in the spiritual Hierarchy of this planet, though the festival itself is often associated with the Christ. The office of the Mahachohan is that part of our inner, spiritual world government that is concerned with the evolution of human culture and interchange, which is an expression of love. It is the largest of the offices, figuratively speaking, since it encompasses all areas of human life not directly connected with government or education. It is also directly concerned with aiding in the establishment of the new spiritual world order, not to be confused with the dark workings of secret governments. The primary characteristic of this office is that it produces those conditions in human life that foster adaptability, activity, interchange, commerce, and the development of the human mind. It is where the head meets the heart, so-to-speak, in the evolution of humanity. The main planets associated with that office are Saturn as the synthetic expression and the Earth as the field of human endeavor. The rich variety that is human expression is fostered by this office, and we can see its connection with Gemini from the preceding points.

Through Gemini and through the auspices of the office of the Mahachohan we learn about life by having to adapt to the multitudinous factors by which we are confronted every day. We build our cultures as a result of the interchange between people and with our environment. Human life is never a static construct and every day sees us having to adjust our thinking and thus our lives in at least some small way. And as our minds develop we eventually come to realize that we are all interrelated and that co-operation is the key to progress rather than selfish effort. That is why humanity has been such a great success story on our little world, although there is still more than enough selfishness to go around. The fact that the Venus transit occurs in Gemini and has for a long time points to the power of culture and shared heritage to bring people together in shared and united purpose. And culture always receives a boost and a shift under these transits and always at this time of year. We can look for changes for the better (eventually) in the areas of finance and commerce, the arts (of all types), sciences, devotional practices (which is primarily religious expression these days), and with new rituals and organizations.

In the chart for the Goodwill Festival we find the Sun and Moon both squaring Jupiter in a T-square. If one is going to have to endure the tensions of a T-square, this is the one to have. Expansiveness is in the air under Jupiter’s auspices and the purposes of the office of the Mahachohan should be well-served and realized. I have spoken much of heritage and the past in this article and the lunar degree (which is also the degree of the Earth in this and any full moon figure) gives even more credence to such themes. It reads thus:

“A widow’s past is brought to light” 13 Sagittarius

Some people say the past comes back to haunt us – and always does if we leave things unresolved. Such is the law of karma, for those things that keep us bound always seek release and resolution. Dane Rudhyar labels this symbol as one of retribution, which it can be. But it can also bring blessings. The “widow’s past” is never all bad and mistakes do not make us bad people. We will surely see a great many things that have laid buried in the past come up for examination this year, as we are already seeing on the news. As these things come up we will have choices to make, as will everyone else in the world. The key to correct handling is not to go into blame and judgement when they do. We might judge “the widow” if we like, but it only keeps us separated and offers no help to her or to us at all. The degree for Jupiter in this figure offers some clues in how to handle the energies of this phase of the year and our evolution. It reads thus:

“In her baby, a mother sees her deep longing for a son answered.” 11 Virgo

We all have deep longings in some area of life – love, children, peace, prosperity, friendship, travel, freedom, and any number of a host of wishes and dreams. Such longings can spring from desire, but they can also come directly from the Soul as it seeks to move us into new areas of development and service. There is no greater service to humanity that the rearing of children, for instance, for without that we would perish as a species. And the sexual urge sees to it that we never thus perish. It also sees to it that we are brought together in such service (that is the ideal, of course) and that love evolves from that. In all such longings we can find the seeds of our future expansion as people and those situations that will see the working out of future relationships and the fulfillment of our lives as Souls. Sometimes the longing goes unrequited, and there is learning in that as well, but the indications for this period are those of expansion, of moving outward to embrace those longings and of finding common ground with all we encounter in the process. As with any square to Jupiter, though, our enthusiasm should be tempered by sound judgement.

My heart rushes into the garden
joyfully tasting all the delights.
But reason frowns, disapproving
of the heart’s bad manners.

Rumi (Yes, I have a book of his poetry with me.)

The remainder of the aspects in this figure are virtually the same as that for the Venus transit and should be read in that light. There is much more that I could say here, but this article is long enough.

I had originally intended to send 4 letters to you before I left on this trip [taking the form of articles on this website, as well as the newsletters to which you can subscribe at the end of this article - ed.]. I am glad now that I was unable to, because this trip has brought so much more out of me and has helped to deepen my understanding of what they were to be about. I wish to thank all of those people who have taken me into their homes and hearts, who have fussed over my welfare, who have given of their time – and most especially of their wisdom – to me. I feel extraordinarily blessed, and the trip is not over yet. I hope I have been able to reciprocate in some small way at least. And, to those people, you always have a place to hang your hat in Australia. I wish to thank those who were patient enough to put up with me while I wrote these articles and who offered their time and services in helping me to send them to you. I feel truly inspired by what I have experienced and seen. Despite what the media portrays, people everywhere are essentially good and full of the will-to-good. I have written about a lot of heady subjects while I have been away, but the simple sharing of conversations, meals and even a few beers can be as healing and uplifting as any number of lofty words and vaunted philosophies. The simple act of being ourselves with a person is the true basis of spiritual sharing – not how much esoteric jargon we can banter around. But the greatest measure of any spiritual sharing is the strength of the Soul that comes through each party, and how much of it we can allow to come out in ourselves and in others.

It has been said that the true measure of a spiritual life is the wisdom that can be brought to bear by a person in times of crisis. Disciples, for instance, may not always be highly intelligent, but they are always wise. I would have to say that I know some extraordinary Souls, on that basis. I feel humbled and proud at the same time. The sultry days of summer here in North carolina will soon be replaced for me by the cold and rain of the Adelaide winter. But, I am heartened in these days of Venusian blessing. My Dreaming is already different to what it was when I left. In the richness of the sharing I have had with people I have come to know the richness of my own life. There have been some bumps in this journey, but even they have added to my spiritual heritage and I will eventually be able to fully see what they have gifted to me. I hope it is thus for all of you as well. May the Spirit of Goodwill move increasingly upon us all and grace us with a richness of culture of which we can only dream at the moment. And – above all – love the one you’re with*, whoever it is! (A man does have to have his tunes, you know?)

My most heartfelt blessings to you all,
Malvin.
26 May 2004

* from Love the One You’re With by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

This concludes the article by Malvin Artley.
Return to the start of The Goodwill 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 letters are sent out as a gift and a service. If you wish to be added to or deleted from the mailing list please let me know. If you feel inspired to pass them on please do so, but do so without alteration or charge. They are sent to people of many persuasions, not just astrologers. Blessings. Click here to subscribe to Malvin's periodic letters.