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The Festival of Salvation [part three]
This concludes the discussion by Malvin Artley of the meanings inherent in the current Full Moon in Virgo, the Festival of Salvation (or the Festival of the Risen Christ). Malvin also publishes a regular astrological newsletter, to which you can subscribe by clicking the link at the end of this article.
There is a very strong emphasis on the inner planes these days upon purpose and self-responsibility. In the past there has been a widely held belief that students of the spiritual life and disciples in the world could give over certain of their troubles to the Teacher or Master and have some of their burdens and hard times lifted if things seemed all too difficult. But, such is not the case today. Humanity has evolved far enough in its consciousness to enable people to be more or less totally self-responsible for their own spiritual development. Teachers are thus seen only as exemplars of what can be achieved and as the custodians of the methods to help the person get a person to their goal. Really--when one looks at the situation--if a person gives over their troubles to someone they only give away their own will and power and entrust their development to someone else. Our teachers on the inner planes are very busy these days and everything we can do to take things on for ourselves and further our own self-development aids in the greater work and releases the Teacher to more valuable service. Our lives are lived according to a purpose, set for us by the Soul before birth. The more we can do to self-realize that purpose and fulfill it, the faster we progress along our Path and the faster we come to realize our inner potential. This is not to say we should avoid seeking advice and help when really needed, but working through problems lies at the very core of a spiritual life. Practice makes better, as the saying goes. Noone can practice the violin for you, for instance. Self RealizationOne of the most profound gifts that the Age of Pisces has bestowed upon humanity is this ideal of self-realization through treading the rough waters of experience—through rowing the boat against the crashing waves. This has come mainly only at the very end of the Piscean Age, though. As usual, help only comes after we have learned the lessons—that is to say, after we are ready to receive the help and to use it wisely. One of the greatest gifts of the 20th Century has been the rapid development of the mind and unfolding of the Soul’s purpose through the stresses and strains that have been wrought through this most amazing time in human history. If necessity is the mother of invention, then the necessity has been very great of late, if we look at what we have accomplished as a species over the past 100 years. At no other time in recorded human history has the average person felt so much a part of the world, so empowered as an individual, so interconnected with all that lives and breathes and so inspired to live according to the highest principles. We have to look at such things in perspective, but awareness has grown in leaps and bounds—both awareness of the wider world and of self-awareness and of self-purpose. The degree of the Sun in this full moon figure represents the essential impulse and purpose to be given through this period and reads thus:
Here we see the power of ideals to unite people in a common celebration of Life and Resurrection as we watch the spectacle of the coming days parade before our very eyes. The Age of Pisces was a great unifying Age and was time in human history given over to ideals of many kinds. It saw the spread of all the great world religions to every corner of the globe, the magic and majesty of human achievement through our own technological developments, the sealing of the door on the biggest part of evil in the world (and, yes, I believe it has been sealed) and the growth of what would have seemed a fantastic world to people 100 years ago. There have been a large number of saving forces set loose in the world, especially in the last century. That there is still a lot to do is true but, again, we need to look at things in perspective. There is so much more to feel good about in life now than there is to fear. That there is a fight on with the forces of materialism now is also true, but humanity will prevail.
The Moon shows the masses of humanity—the common folk--in any mundane figure. This degree shows the power of that which has remained bottled up to explode as a liberating force in the affairs of humanity. The fact that Jupiter conjoins the Moon in this figure indicates that there is the capacity for expansion on a massive scale. That which has been suppressed will always seek a way out and eventually find it. Truth has a way of coming out, just as the Soul, as our own personal truth, always makes its presence known to us and eventually guides our lives. The conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter indicates a high moral character, a strong belief in the self, cheerfulness and optimism and a sympathetic ear to people’s problems. The fact that Pluto squares this point guarantees that such an eruption in the human worlds will indeed take place. It may not happen this month, but it will happen. There is nothing to fear in this. Consider it to be an act of healing on a planetary scale. Mars trines this point, too, so the fireworks display should be quite spectacular. Enjoy! In all, this will be a most energetic, expansive and liberating year in the salvation of whatever needs saving in our little corner of the universe. Be forewarned, though, that these same energies apply to us individually as well. The Higher SelfPluto helps to restore our sense of the higher Self to us and thus our true sense of direction and purpose. Through the purging it brings we are strengthened and cleansed for the coming tasks ahead. The 23rd Psalm from the Bible is a pretty good description of Pluto and Pisces working together. Just after the last full moon I was on site doing a job for one of the larger manufacturing facilities in Adelaide when I had to go answer an urgent call from nature. I had been looking at some things in my life with which I was not particularly happy and was feeling particularly stuck in that regard. As I walked across the laneway toward my port of call I happened to look down and notice a little ant, dutifully carrying a piece of material several times bigger than itself. That set me off on an entire train of thought, and then, all of a sudden, I got an answer to my quandary. We all go through our lives dutifully doing our business and yet are in a constant fog of misguided thought—always reminding ourselves of the myriad things that we do not think we can do—self-limiting, “Soul-destroying”, self-undoing thoughts and feelings. We are peculiar in that regard. Nature has no such misapprehensions. The ant was going about its business because it could. If it could not have done it, it would have gone for help, but the job would have been completed. A small child, like the ant, will explore its world with no thought of limitation other than its own natural instincts. It will push all its boundaries if we let it, and it will do so with a most amazing sense of joyfulness and intensity of purpose. It will concentrate on its task at hand with a focus that puts many adults to shame—and it will often come up with solutions to obstacles in its way with an inventiveness that leaves adults with open mouths. I can remember some of the things my parents said we kids used to get up to, and I have been looking at that sense of joyful intensity and lateral thinking quite a bit since my communion with the little ant. Pluto has been a good—though stern—and yet blessed friend to me for the past several years now. As we watch the events of this year unfold and we go through the inevitable changes to come, let us all take recourse to nature from time to time. It is a tremendous restorative and fantastic symbolic language in periods of personal and world upheaval and shifting. It will also yield up many answers to questions if we have an eye for its symbolism. The Chinese and many other cultures would often go out into nature and read the portents for coming or existent situations and would gain a lot of insight as a result. The little story I related to you at the start of this letter is a case in point. Though I had been going through one of life’s hiccups, that scene was there to remind me that nature is there to support us and that we are an integral part of it, that nothing is ever quite so bad that we cannot see the beauty in things, that stillness and reflection in the face of storms brings wisdom because the answers are always there in front of us if we but take the time and calm ourselves enough to look, that the order and purpose of life goes on unabated and inexorably and that at the end of every struggle there is always a blessing that moves one’s Soul and brings us to a point of peace within ourselves. And, there is always time for play and a laugh or two. God does have a sense of humor. Now, you may not live near the beach and see dolphins in your reflections, but there is always a natural spot close by that offers solitude and a haven for quiet and a meditative retreat. Noone thinks clearly when the storm is in full swing. Pisces teaches us the value of stillness and a meditative rhythm in our lives. It shows us what happens when we ignore the higher life and give ourselves over to the mundane world, because Pluto will then take up his task again and soon set us back on course. It teaches us the value of fellowship and of submerging ourselves in a task for the greater good and one that is greater than our little selves. And, in overcoming our patterns of self-undoing we come to know how to help others much more effectively. The Christ spirit lives and breathes within all of us. It is not a personage. It is that which beats within the heart of all and bestows true purpose in our lives and which shows the saving power that love can have in anyone’s life. Let us all recognize that every challenge is a call to love more fully and that every limiting circumstance is both a veiled call to liberation and a lesson for our growth. The call has gone out: “Physician, heal thyself.” And, in your own self-healing may you recognize the healing you bring about to all around you as a result. Many blessings to you all,Malvin. 27 Feb 2004 Return to the start of The Festival of Salvation 
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