Derek’s Virgo Newsletter– August/September 2021

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Welcome Dear Travellers & Seekers to this month’s Newsletter!

It is exactly 1 year ago on the Autumn Equinox, September 22nd. 2020, that I launched my new website and started my Newsletters. To celebrate that fact, I am going to “raise the bar” and upgrade the frequency by introducing a more inner or esoteric presentation. I hope you will enjoy the Journey!

     We shall have the Virgo New Moon taking place 7th. September at 14½-degrees and whatever you start around this period will culminate two weeks later at the Full Moon climax occurring 20th. September at 28-degrees Virgo. Then 2 days later, transit Sun enters LIBRA 22nd. September & we have the AUTUMN EQUINOX. Powerful days ahead! New Moon to Full Moon periods are about fertilization and physical results. A new cycle is beginning and moving towards some kind of fulfillment at the Full Moon stage. This occurs every month of course, but how do we cooperate with this energy cycle – are we becoming increasingly more conscious of these opportunities?

Seen from a more symbolic viewpoint, we have the New Moon phase representing THE VIRGIN, then 7 days later the First Quarter Moon, 90 degrees ahead of the Sun, a separation from the “Virgin” stage, a crises in action leading to THE WIFE period.  And then 7 days after, or 14 days from the New Moon, we have the culminating Full Moon & THE MOTHER stage. 

Isn’t that a wonderful series of images to help us understand these processes?

This is the growth cycle of the 14 days of increase, the waxing phase of the Moon and will be followed by 14 days of decrease, the waning cycle of the Moon – which presents us with new female images to work with.

As we are in the month of VIRGO, the Virgin, it is most appropriate that we focus our attention upon the first half of this unfolding Sun-Moon-Earth relationship.

 Let’s start off by expanding what the esoteric Keynote for Virgo is directing our attention towards.  

“I am the Mother and the Child. I, God, I, matter am”

Esoteric Keynote for Virgo

In the Star Constellations, VIRGO is shown holding in her right hand a branch, often an olive branch, while in her left hand she holds an ear of wheat. She is essentially a diety of crops. 

Here in our Northern hemisphere at the end of August and start of September, we have the harvest period. This is a time of great bounty and fertility. VIRGO is the second Earth sign in the Zodiac, and it is the function of VIRGO to organise or reorganise matter.

VIRGO stands as the discriminator, as the chemist, the alchemist, who by means of her wisdom, clothes things in their appropriate garment of flesh, giving to each its character, value and quality, evolving distinct and pure products, so separating the world of matter into its proper classes of divisions and units. It is She who carefully and accurately assembles the right ingredients in fruits, vegetables, seeds, giving each its flavour and texture, each its characteristic form, colour, and scent.

It is the function of VIRGO to purify, refine and separate. VIRGO is Creation hastening to its Sabbath of rest in the next sign of Libra. 

“The sign Virgo is one of the most significant in the Zodiac for its symbology concerns the whole goal of the evolutionary process which is to shield, nurture and finally reveal the hidden spiritual reality….

..The keynote which embodies the truth as to the mission of Virgo most accurately is “Christ in you, the hope of Glory”. There is no clearer or more adequate definition of this sign than that.” 

   “Esoteric Astrology” pages 251-252 by Alice A. Bailey


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In the majority of classical depictions of Madonna and child, you will see the head of the infant Jesus is located near the mother’s heart, or the child’s head is positioned here with the eyes looking up to Mary, thus forming a highly significant triangle. The great painters were awakened souls and attempted through their works to convey the Eternal Wisdom Teachings to those who has the eyes to see.
In all the great world religions, the Virgin Mother appears and this a study of any book upon comparative religion would prove. It is abundantly obvious that there is a universal recognition of the task of Virgo.

As Alice Bailey in the book “Esoteric Astrology” explains, the word Virgo is itself a descendant of and a corruption of an ancient Atlantean root name which was used for the Mother principle in those far off times. This Virgin was the Founder of the Matriarchate which then dominated civilization and to which various myths & legends bear evidence. 

One of them surrounds Lilith, the last of the Virgin Goddesses of Atlantean times, which got reflected in the Greek myth of Hercules defeating the Queen of the Amazons, wresting from her what he sought.

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You will also come across various wonderful images of the Mother Mary, her head surrounded by Stars – and what a beautiful teaching before us. Let’s not be pushed away by the Christian interpretation of what this means, but let’s look deeper…..really deeper! Put on your esoteric glasses now….

VIRGO is the Cosmic Mother principle, an Earth sign, receptive to the Father aspect of Creation. VIRGO is the oldest of all the zodiac signs, which is a statement that we are as yet, unable to prove, yet in the esoteric teachings we are told that in our present Solar System, it is the Christ Child, the expression of the Divine Consciousness and the result of the relationship of Father-Spirit and Mother-Matter, that must be brought to birth.

It is very interesting that it is Virgin who gives birth to the Christ. She does not conceive Him from outer sources – He is inside the Virgin. Christ is ever-present within. But Spirit is not recognized except by the Son of the Mother. He is the link between the Father and the Mother. The Universal Soul or Christ principle is the bridge between Spirit & Matter.

Thus the constellation of Virgo is an energy field in Space which is urging the Solar System, the planet and each human being to fulfil the goal of evolution on human, planetary and solar scales. Seen through our esoteric lens, it was in the first Solar System that She shielded, nourished and revealed the Intelligence principle in matter. In humanity, this gave birth to those Great Ones Who embodied the principle and carried out the heavy labour to fulfil the purpose of what we know as the Third Ray.

In the second Solar System, which is the one we are living in, Virgo and the Virgin, shielded, nourished and revealed those Sparks of God Who came in on the Second Ray to embody the principles of Love-Wisdom. They will continue Their work until the purpose of the Second Ray reaches its culmination.

In the third and next Solar System, far away in Earth years, the Mother will move onto the Ray of Will Power and will give birth to those Avatars Who will work on the First Ray line and labour to bring into consummation the purpose of the First Ray.

The Holy Spirit was identified with the Mother in the First Solar System. In the Second, She is serving as the agent of the Second Ray. In the Third, She will be the agent of the First Ray. It is in the Third Solar System that the equilibrium between the two forces, feminine & masculine, will be achieved and the Divine Hermaphrodite will appear. This will be the marriage in Heaven between the Virgin Mary and the First Ray Lord. It is through these 3 Solar Systems She will eventually reveal the Purpose behind our Earth.

Now although my readers might find this information somewhat hard to grasp, yet as you know from life, the more references you have upon a subject, the greater your perspective – and that leads to better judgment. Stay in the process and let’s do further justice to the glory of this sign Virgo.

All creation exists in the Logoic Plane, a kind of Cosmic soup. When there is an emanation in the Mind of the Creator, this is like the emergence of a wave in the ocean. The wave is not different from the ocean in essence, but yet differs from it as a state. This state, before Creation, is called Holy Mother of all creation. This plane or dimension is located in the sign of Virgo. Since the whole of creation emanates from her as a visualization and not as a reflection on matter, it is called THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.

These are profound mysteries to meditate upon – but that is the goal of the spiritual Path.

To nurture the Divinity within ourselves & within others, we must try to:

  1. See beauty within others and within ourselves;

  2. Appreciate the expression of virtues;

  3. Inspire people with lofty ideas, visions and examples in our lives;

  4. Express beauty, harmony, goodness and truth in all our actions, expressions and thoughts;

  5. Raise the standard of morality and education;

  6. And, provide lofty music, literature and other arts created on higher levels of consciousness which are capable of imparting spiritual vitality and the urge to serve and sacrifice.

 To reveal the Divinity within others and within ourselves, we must try to:

  1. Trust and show faith in their inner light;

  2. Create those conditions in which they will bloom freely as spiritual beings;

  3. Inspire them for world service;

  4. Challenge them for heroic acts;

  5. Show them world need;

  6. Cooperate with all their creative and constructive actions;

  7. And, create opportunities for them to see their own beauty, their own Self.

Thus we can shield, nourish and reveal the Divinity within us and within others, utilizing the energy radiated by the constellation of Virgo.

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In the distant past there was originally 10 signs and Virgo-Scorpio were fused together and Libra did not exist. 

When humanity begun to respond to all 3 worlds of the physical body, the emotional and mental bodies that compose our Personality, that collective response gave birth to the 12 signs of the Zodiac that we have today. These became anchored as powerful Thought-Forms or Archetypes upon the Astral Plane during early Atlantean times.

You will see the obvious similarities between the two signs Virgo and Scorpio, and when they separated, the sign of Libra became incarnated and inserted between the two. The 3 lines depicting these two signs can be understood as the 3 worlds of the human Personality, and the end of the symbol turns inward with Virgo yet is externalised with Scorpio. This hints at kundalini serpent force and mastery of the alchemical fires within.

The word “Zodiac” means a “circle of animals” and yet Libra is not symbolized by any animal but the object of the Scales. Libra is an Air sign, governing the mental body and the power of choice and discrimination. Here is the clue to the transition from 10 signs to the 12 zodiacal signs that we use today.

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Another sign of the Zodiac which is also closely related to the previous Solar System where the preparation of Matter or Earth substance to receive Spirit was begun, is the first water sign of the Zodiac, Cancer, often called the Great Mother archetype. It is said that all human beings or Divine Monads, spirits incarnating into the 4th. Kingdom of Nature, had to do so first through the Great Gate of Cancer. 

This is the soul birthing upon the physical plane, entrance into Matter and the start of it’s evolutionary journey through aeons of time. At the opposite end we have the Zodiac sign and Great Gate of Capricorn, symbolizing birth into the world of Spirit. 

It is the Keys to these two Great Gates, the polarity of Cancer-Capricorn, that the Christ gave to his representative on Earth, the disciple Peter, which form the insignia of every Vatican Pope ever since.

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Astrologers will clearly recognize the significance of the Rulers of these two signs, the Moon governing Cancer and Saturn governing Capricorn, as the fastest and the slowest of the classical planets moving around the Zodiac. 

Mastery of Time and building up appropriate structures to house spiritual energies upon the physical plane is our human Karma. Saturn rules those signs (Capricorn by Day & Aquarius by Night) and Houses (10th & 11th.) in opposition to the Sun and the Moon (Leo & Cancer & the 4th. & 5th. Houses), signifying the earthly experience that will shape the Soul. 

So when we are responding to more spiritual energies than materialistic ones, when our vehicles of response have been upgraded, we start to resonate to the higher frequencies of each zodiac sign and move from the traditional planetary rulerships to the Esoteric Planetary Rulers of each Zodiac sign. This is the teaching for a New Astrology that reflects the Aquarian vibration we have entered into. 

And in the sign of Virgo, there is a movement from Mercury to the esoteric Ruler, the MOON.  The mind governed by the Messenger of the Gods, Mercury, and the physical form, governed by the thought-form building faculty of the Moon, now combine to express the Will of God.

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Where did we first learn to unfold and express our emotions, and to inhabit the emotional-astral body? 

Here, on planet Earth – or on the Moon itself? If we associate the Moon with our instinctual emotional patterns of response and there has been aeons of time for us to evolve our emotional life, then try to get your consciousness to become open to the esoteric teaching that before coming to this dense Earth planet, we evolved upon what is known as the Moon chain and transferred from the Moon to our Earth. What this really means is all part of the Mystery of the Cosmic relationship between the Moon and the Earth. But it is no scientific mystery that the different phases of the Moon not only influence all plant life, but the movement of water and tides on the planet and the rise & fall of the seminal fluid surrounding our physical brain.

The Moon is what one master described as a “deserted palace”, an ancient form through which our Planetary Logos or God, at one time sought expression. 

Therefore the Earth is still closely linked with the astral body of the Moon and indeed, with the astral bodies of all people, for this “body” acts like the emotional glue that bonds people and the different parts of us together. People who are more centered and harmonized in their astral body, will not over-react at the times of the Full Moon, when the Moon’s influence is at its peak, but can profit by working with these lunar cycles. Those who are unbalanced, overly emotional and frequently swept by uncontrolled desire, overstimulated and psychically upset, will experience quite the opposite from these same cycles. This is why it is a well-known fact, that the Police Departments around the world maintain a high-degree of alertness and readiness to respond to the increase of crimes of passion & violence during the Full Moon periods.

It is good for your imaginative faculties to get a vague & faint idea of the synthesis of the great evolutionary scheme. 

It is also good for your intuitional sensitivities to see that VIRGO is the sixth sign of the Zodiac and the 6-pointed Star is a most ancient symbol, portraying as it does the process of involution, descent of spirit, and evolution, ascent of spirit, carried to a point of balance.

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VIRGO is a sign that we associate with Health & Healing and the 6th. House on the horoscope corresponds to our eating habits, diet, our physical constitution and physical well-being. It is also the sign that has the powerful motivating force to want to constantly improve itself. This drive for self-improvement can be understood in various ways, including learning new skills, being the eternal student that just can’t get enough education, better diet, more exercise and training. 

Ahh yes, TRAINING – which is a magical word indeed and can be applied to our physical life, our emotional life, our mental life and our spiritual life. Earlier in society one was an apprentice to a Master, learning a trade – that is Virgo.

And there you have it – VIRGO is a sign of Discipleshipand who or what is a disciple? Discipleship is an expression of a fuller life, the true rounded-out, evolved and authentic human being, with no deficiencies, an expression of being centred and expressing Self. It is the ideal model.

To express it in another way, a Disciple is pledged to do 3 things:

  1. To serve Humanity.

  2. To co-operate with the Plan of the Great Ones who guide the evolution on this planet, as he/she sees it and as best one can.

  3. To develop the powers of the Ego, to expand his/her consciousness until it can function on the 3 planes in the 3 worlds and in the Casual Body (the vehicle of Causes), and to follow the guidance of the Higher Self and not the dictates of his or her 3-fold lower manifestation of physical, astral/emotional & lower mental bodies.

DISCIPLESHIP & THE PLANETS

And let’s not limit this theme of discipleship to the individual human being only, as this applies to planets as well, for each planet is the physical dwelling of a spiritual principle too. Yes, planets aren’t just clumps of rock buzzing around in space, but the homes for a great Spiritual Intelligence.

Our planetary Logos is said to be rapidly evolving now and moving from what is technically termed, a non-sacred Planet, towards a Sacred Planet. The rapid acceleration of consciousness is the testimony of that statement and guarantees much change & crises as we evolve into the Aquarian vibration. Our planet Earth is a vastly intelligent and compassionate entity that has chosen to incarnate as this planet. We do not evolve without the Earth and it is more likely that the Earth evolves us!

A Sacred Planet houses a permanent Spiritual principle and a non-sacred planet has lesser status and must prove itself worthy of the task. Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune for example, are Sacred Planets, Mars, Pluto and the Earth are still non-sacred planets. Look at the example of Jupiter with its hundreds of moon-satellites, captured in its huge gravitational field, and recognize that these smaller cosmic rocks are part of a family committed to the path of discipleship, revolving around their Master & Teacher Jupiter.

In the esoteric teachings we learn about the close relationship that exists between the planet Venus and our Earth, a relationship that can best be understood as a loving parent and an adolescent child. The great Kumara or Initiator from Venus came to this dense planet millions of years ago to stimulate the latent mind faculties in the animal man at that time, yet His vibration was sensed only much, much later during the period known as the 3rd. Root Race. 

Wheat, the agricultural product that first civilized man, was a gift from the Venusians to help stimulate civilization. It was the cultivation of wheat and therefore agriculture, that was primarily responsible for the transforming of early man from a hunter-nomad to the builder of sophisticated societies & civilization. 

Reflect upon the phenomenal example of grass – it covers more area of our planet than any other plant – and feeds more animals than any other plant or vegetable. Grass has an indestructible base and can repair itself very fast.

Wheat, a form of grass, belongs to the plant kingdom and according to the teachings, the plant & vegetable Kingdom is at an advanced stage of discipleship, much further in evolution than the Human Kingdom. 

The vegetable Kingdom draws its vital strength from 3 sources – the Sun, the water and the earth. The vegetable Kingdom is the transmitter and the transformer of the vital pranic fluid to the other life forms on our planet. That is its divine and unique function.

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In the vegetable Kingdom, the influence of the planets Venus & Jupiter together powerfully influence this world of forms. It might interest you to learn what planets influence the other Kingdoms of Nature, yet clearly that is beyond the scope of this month’s Newsletter.

Venus and Jupiter expand the Love-Wisdom nature and this is shown through the plant & vegetable Kingdom’s attractiveness, in the sense of beauty, of colour, of form, of distribution and its liberation, or its highest form of activity, what we could also describe as the Cosmic Consciousness of the Vegetable Kingdom, demonstrated through perfume. 

In the mineral Kingdom, it is beyond precious stones & metals, it is radioactivity, to reach the state of radiation, the power to pass through all limiting and environing substances. 

In the animal Kingdom, its highest form, works out as the domesticity of the more evolved animals and their devotion to humanity. As our pets get closer to us, they learn to attune to the human vibration and thus prepare themselves for their future evolution, which means entry into the Human Kingdom – as we did in a far, far distant past, moving from the 3rd. Kingdom of Nature into the 4th. Kingdom.

And as Human beings our future lies in our entry into the next and 5th. Kingdom of Souls, which was the constant teaching of the Master Jesus, when he talked about entrance into My Father’s House.

 If we truly had the eyes to vision this reality, the synthesis of life would appear to us in all its glory.

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The 12 plants that have changed the world:

Plants are not just for aesthetic purposes because they have more to offer than just their external beauty. Even before the birth of modern civilization, human beings have been using plants as food, shelter, disease treatment and for rituals. Today, plants are being used as raw materials, widely utilized in manufacturing medicines, food supplements, beauty products and other health and wellness products that enhance existence.

It has been said that medicinal plants are the most evolutionary advanced in the vegetable Kingdom and that those in this class bear beauty & perfume are the Disciples and Initiates of that Kingdom. They – the Devas or Builders, who are the plants - enjoy being used by us for the purpose of healing.

We rarely stop to consider the profound impact that plants have on our everyday life. If the world’s plants suddenly expired, we would have no tomorrow. Yet it is easy to dismiss plants as the silent witnesses to our progress on the planet. 

Few events in world history have been so epoch making as the discovery of the New World of the Americas at the end of the 15th. Century. Yet the prime motivation of the European explorers at that time was not scientific curiosity or the desire for gold – it was the need to find access to PEPPER, to mask the taste of putrefying meat, when land routes to the East were threatened by Turkish expansion. Our history books need to be rewritten!

Then there is SUGAR – originally a plant native to Polynesia, it is almost entirely harmful to the human body, but as Western Europe became addicted to it in the 17th. & 18th. Centuries, this led to the shipping of millions of Africans across the Atlantic to grow sugar in the Caribbean, at such human cost that each slave produced only a ton of sugar before he died.

In the next pages I want to introduce you to the 12 plants that have changed our world, transformed human civilization and help stimulate the previous statement that the plant Kingdom is at an advanced stage of Discipleship.Various botany & horticulture experts might place the following list in different order of importance, but all would be in agreement about this selection.

  1. OPIUM POPPY – If we were to nominate one plant for its maximum positive & maximum negative impact on humanity, then the Opium Poppy would be number one candidate. It is the source of untold human misery through heroin addiction, but it is also vital as pharmaceutical morphine in the treatment of cancer. No cancer hospital ward would wish to be without it, since it rids the body of extreme pain like no other substance on earth.

It has been exploited for at least 6000 years, primarily by Neolithic tribes who ranged across eastern & southern Europe. The Greeks celebrated it for its calming, medicinal qualities and the Romans were familiar with it. But it was Arab merchants who first introduced opium to China in the East and Europe in the West as they worked their land trade routes.

2. RICE – provides more than 80% of the nutritional requirements of over 50% of the world’s population. 


3. WHEAT – like rice, wheat is a grass cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain which is a worldwide staple food and a major source of carbohydrates, multiple nutrients and dietary fiber. The archaeological records show that wheat was first cultivated around 9600 BC in Turkey and today wheat is grown on more land area than any other food crop. The early Egyptians were developers of bread and the use of the oven and developed baking into one of the first large-scale food production industries. By 4000 BC wheat had reached the British Isles and Scandinavia. In the UK wheat straw (thatch) was used for roofing in the Bronze Age and was in common use until the 19th. Century.

4. BAMBOO – technically a kind of grass, bamboo is an evergreen perennial flowering plant. This versatile plan has been used for thousands of years to make domestic items, such as tools and bowls, furniture and weapons. The leaves provide food and since bamboo is a durable raw material, it has a strength & rigidity with hardwood, can withstand high temperatures and can be used fo many indoor & outer constructions.

5. COCONUT – the uses of coconut are quite broad. Known as “The Tree of Life”, all parts of this versatile plant can be used in many industries. Coconut oil has been used for cooking or making beauty products (lotions, face creams, soaps, shampoos etc.) The reason for its popularity is because it may make the skin softer and smoother. The oil also acts as a great source of essential fatty acids in the  body, as well as maintaining proper levels of cholesterol. Also the unsaturated fat content of coconut oil helps regulate hormone production in the body.

6. RUBBER – because its processing into tyres, rubber has greatly contributed to the car culture – which has increased our mobility around the planet, yet also created problems of pollution, global warming and urban congestion.

7. COTTON – given its social and cultural impacts, cotton has had such an effect on the slave trade and is right up to date in remaining controversial given the GM (genetically modified) varieties being grown. It also creates environmental impacts as a third of the world’s pesticides are used in the cotton industry. Cotton was responsible for the 8-fold increase in the slave population in the USA between 1784 -1860, leading to the second bloodiest war of the 19th. Century.

8. CANNABIS & HEMP – call it what you will, most authorities would agree that it has a long & confusing history but this plant has been ranked as the world’s most widely consumed recreational drug. The hemp plant, cannabis sativa, was among the earliest cultivated plants. Hemp and Cannabis have been used for thousands of years, for medicinal purposes, both as a pain reliever and to treat a range of ailments from cancer & depression to Alzheimer’s disease.  Hemp’s importance as either a medicine or a narcotic, however, was outweighed by its usefulness as a fiber-plant. This sustainable hemp crop can be processed into just about anything from house insulation, car body panels to “breathable” clothing.
It was a crop fundamental to the economy of Elizabethan England, as its fibres clothed people, provided sailcloth and rope for the Navy and was so essential that you could be fined for not growing it! The American Ben Franklin, co-author of the USA Constitution, profited hugely from his cultivation of the hemp crop, as did George Washington & Thomas Jeffersen who also ran hemp companies. The Declaration of Independence was printed on it and today the hemp-cannabis product promises to be a “savior green crop” to many individual States in America who have legalized sale of cannabis or marijuana.

9. TEA – from its home in China, tea as a crop has spread around the world. Europeans became addicted in the 18th. Century when huge imports of tea from China had their impact on our civilization.  Originally much scarcer and more valuable than today, it was introduced to the Himalayas by the East India Company and remains one of the world’s most popular drinks.

10. TOBACCO – it has had a massive impact on health, and often quite negative, but it also has a Janus face as a very useful plant for drug and vaccine development. As one researcher described it: “It is a laboratory rat sort of plant”.

11. QUININE – the South American Cinchona tree, the bark of which provides the anti-malarial drug quinine. It has prevented millions of deaths but also supported Empire building. As one historian pointed out: “I don’t believe there would have been a British Empire without quinine. It enabled the British to colonise in tropical countries around the globe, with all the implications that had”.

12. YAM – Last, but certainly not least on our list, is the Yam or Dioscorea Mexicana, the original source for the contraceptive pill. It was discovered back in the 1950s in Mexico. It changed the status of women worldwide, allowing them to control their fertility and to become free from the burden of unwanted pregnancy

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This is a list of 12 plants that have changed the course of human history, and the list could be expanded tenfold! We use plants for many uses and to help us humans survive. 

Perhaps in another Newsletter I will explore the subject of TREES and their diverse functions on the planet, yet during our current climate change crises, we can recognize that the ecosystems around the world are rapidly changing. And that means not just on the land, but the plant world and ecosystems in the sea. 

These are the challenges that can only be successfully dealt with if we respond not as individual tribes but as One Humanity living on One Planet, Our Earth.

Trees, for example, help prevent soil erosion, help maintain soil fertility, have a cooling effect on the atmosphere leading to rainfall and provide a habitat and home for animals. Oxygen is produced via this photosynthesis process. And that means deforestation and the clearing and conversion of land are threats to the amount of and base plant life we have. The rainforests have many critical benefits and functions – providing biodiversity, providing medicines, providing food diversity and helping to regulate climate. 

Will we enter into a new level of cooperation with the Plant Kingdom here at the start of the Aquarian Age?

To complete this section of my Newsletter, I want to show you some wonderful photos of CROP CIRCLES, which will also stimulate the thought that our Venusian Brothers & Sisters are continuing to guide us along our evolutionary path in many exciting ways. Enjoy these breath-taking creations in fields of wheat!

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Can you really grasp the impact of the Venusians upon our world, through the absolutely beautiful phenomena of the Crop Circles – WOW!

There is a huge difference between man-made treading on planks of wood to flatten the wheat and the intrically woven tapestry of the authentic Crop Circle. I have also experienced being inside one such crop circle with a BBC film crew who scientifically measured the electrical intensity inside the circle, yet outside the circle nothing was recorded, a phenomena which quite understandably baffled these nuts-&-bolts researchers.  

Venus rules the Arts and is a major influence upon the plant Kingdom and agriculture as these examples from England over recent years will show. These remarkable patterns in the farmer’s fields appear suddenly and normally overnight. Eye witness accounts describe very small balls of light that dance over the land and move at incredible speeds. And each year the type and nature of the symbolism involved is different, to indicate a clear intelligence at work. The Venusians are trying to stimulate our curiosity to grasp the true nature of this phenomena, as they have been doing for thousands of years. 

Here come some Crop Circle images to enjoy – and what an amazing free Art show we are being exposed too! And true to the nature of Art, it civilizes us!

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What a feast to be nourished by! Inspiration indeed! Thank you, our Venusian Brothers & Sisters!

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Virgo is an Earth sign well known for its attention to details. It is also that time of the year when farmers are taking-in their harvest, so you will normally see this sign portrayed as a woman with wheat in one hand, the Corn Goddess. But who is this?

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CERES was the Roman Goddess of Agriculture, and is mainly linked to the mythology of her Greek counterpart, DEMETER, who was famous for withdrawing the fertility of the Earth in order to bargain for the return of her daughter Persephone from the Underworld, after the young girl was abducted by Hades/Pluto.

It is an astrological truth that as our awareness of the Solar System evolves through new astronomical discoveries (and currently there are no less than 100+ new planets discovered due to the Hubble Space telescope) then the nature of archetypes & metaphors by which we humans navigate the world also shifts.

And so too when a planet is promoted and another demoted, as in the example from 2006 by the “International Astronomical Union”, when Pluto lost its status as a planet and became a “Dwarf” planet, and Ceres was promoted from asteroid to Dwarf planet.

We have known about Ceres since its discovery on 1st. January 1801, yet this new status is worthy of our investigation.

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There are more than 50,000 asteroids and about 2000 of them have been named or numbered. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars & Jupiter and has a diameter of 940 km. It is the only asteroid large enough to be rounded by its own gravity. It has an orbital period of 4½ years and it here at the start of September 2021 it is travelling through the sign Gemini - and is no coincidence that it will be returning to my natal placement at 10-degrees Gemini at the start of this month. I discovered this correspondence after I had been writing about Ceres for this Newsletter – a wonderful example of syncronicity!

Here are the major asteroids used by Astrologers. All are worthy of our attention, yet the focus for this Newsletter is the growing potency of Ceres. Perhaps in next months September Newsletter, with the focus upon the energies of LIBRA, we can explore the significance of Juno in the horoscope.

So, Jupiter is the King of the Gods and was the Father of these 4 Asteroid Goddesses:

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Appropriately, the first asteroid to be discovered was named after the Olypmpian Goddess who most exemplifies the Mother. Her glyph or written symbol takes the form of a scythe, which is an obvious reference to Ceres as the Goddess of Argriculture & Harvesting, yet also the roundness of a breast.

When placed in a horoscope, the asteroids accomplish a great deal and provide information that is not available through the use of the traditional planets. 

So Ceres symbolizes the role of parental bonding in family structures and the development of self-worth as the foundatiion for healthy relationships. It represents your capacity for unconditional love and nurture to yourself and to others.

Pallas Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, governs the ability of the mind to create our reality and to formulate and attain our goals. It represents your capacity for creative wisdom and original perceptions.

Juno, the Queen of the Heavens & Divine Consort, wife to Jupiter, depicts our need for intimate relationships and our capacity to commit ourselves to them. And Vesta indicates our need for personal commitment and focus to work or to an ideal.

Before the use of the asteroids, the only significator of the feminine in traditional astrology were the Moon & Venus, and the socially acceptable roles for women were the Moon as mother and Venus as lover. This began to change when the first 4 feminine named asteroids were discovered in the 19th. Century as the Woman’s Movement for equal rights and equal participation in society received a great impetus. These seeds did not bear fruit however until the early 1970s when the first asteroid Ephemeris was published, and there was an explosion of re-discovery of the Feminine & revival of the Goddess in woman’s spirituality, and breaking the confines of woman’s stereotypical roles. The asteroids correspond to the feminine archetype embodied in their mythological namesakes. They provide links between personal and collective awareness.

Ceres, Pallas Athena, Juno & Vesta represented these new voices of the dormant feminine, and now demanding recognition, power, justice and equality in our societies. It is important to emphasize that this phenomenon is not limited to women, for this awakening has had a profound effect on men too. Old patterns and sterotypes are no longer acceptable and men are developing new responses to the transformed woman.

We are living in historic times of global transformation and this fact is glaringly obvious today, that the balance between the feminine & the masculine are important issues for both individuals and society. 

The position of these 4 asteroids in our horoscope describe a personal way in which we can effect this change.

Astrologers have made links between these 4 asteroids and the zodiacal signs of Virgo, Libra & Scorpio. Ceres & Vesta, Keeper of the Celestial Flame, the Vestal Virgin, have affinity with the sign Virgo, while Pallas Athena corresponds with Libra and Juno to Scorpio.

It is also true to state that CERES will also relate to the signs of both Cancer & Virgo, and the Taurus-Scorpio axis. To explore these links is not what I can achieve in this Newsletter, but just be aware of these correspondences.

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To understand how these asteroid goddesses operate, we shall need to explore the myths associated with them. And as we probe the deeper or “secret” meaning of any myth, this illustrates the process of archetypal patterns as they unconsciously direct the dramas of human life. 

The myths depict the basic life scripts that humanity has available through which to express itself. As individuals live out these myths, they bring the unconscious energies of the archetypes into their awareness.

Therefore, insight into one’s own personal mythology, gained by an understanding of planetary themes in the birth chart, can enable the individual to more consciously live out his or her destiny.

Examples: 

Alan Leo, the great Victorian Astrologer & occult writer, Founder of the Theosophical Lodge, had Ceres in Gemini conjunct Uranus in 10th House of Career.

Shakespearean actor Richard Burton, was born with Ceres conjunct Neptune in Leo, and nurtured the world through his creative acting. Marilyn Monroe also had the same combination and nurtured the world through her projection of mystical beauty, yet her inability to form a positive self-image and her emotional neediness led to her personal tragedy.

The truly classic example of Ceres in Virgo would be Dr.Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, founder of the Hospice Movement and the first to address the issue of facing our fears of death & dying with dignity. 

She dedicated herself to a life of service to others (7th. House Ceres placement) by counselling those in need of physical and psychological healing. 

Multifaceted David Bowie, was born with Ceres in Aquarius, to emphasize his unique brand of originality and supported by its 5th. House placement, the area of creative self-expression on the horoscope. So too film star & earlier sex & fitness goddess Jane Fonda, has Ceres in Aquarius but in the 7th. House, that shows the impact of her father on her upbringing and her husband Tom Hayden.

George Washington, Founding Father to his Country, was born with Ceres in Gemini, 1st. House.

Sigmund Freud, the pioneer of modern psychology, was born with Ceres conjunct the Moon in 8th. House, and he probed the issues of sexuality and mother love and projected his own experiences in his theory of the Oedipal Complex.

These are but a few examples to help wet your appetite for more! 

And the great classic book that I can wholeheartedly recommend, is Demetra George’s “Asteroid Goddess” that was first published in 1984 and was reprinted in 203 by Ibis Press, USA. Here you will find all you need to know about these 4 Asteroid Goddesses in your chart.

Demetra George also offers a computer written Report of these 4 asteroids from your birth horoscope that you should also check-out and I can highly recommend.

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The Asteroid Belt represents a mystery, explained as the remains of a planet that was destroyed in a battle of the Gods. Could this have been the planet that is alluded to in The Old Testament, Book of Isaiah, 14th. Chapter?

“How you are fallen from Heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! 

How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!”

The remanants of that race fled to the large asteroid Ceres.  

In recent years satellites have recorded smalls areas of light that have been assumed to be fosforous stones or temperature changes – but in 2015 a new satellite gave pictures of a pyramid shape building that was the originator of this light!

The film producer & creator of “Star Wars”, George Lucas, was born May 14, 1944 and thus his Sun was located at 23½-degrees Taurus – which is the exact discovery position for Ceres on New Year’s Day 1801

Do you remember the dramatic scene from Star Wars, where Governor Tarkin makes Princess Leia watch the destruction of her home planet of Alderaan. It’s the first time that the mighty power of  the “Death Star” (an artificial satelite used for destructive purposes) is to be revealed. Using a powerful laser beam carrying enormous energy, the beautiful planet of Alderaan is obliterated. At the same moment, elsewhere in the Galaxy, Obi-wan Kenobi, one of the last Jedi Knights, senses the tremors in the Force. “I felt a great disturbace in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.” says Alec Guiness as Obi-wan Kenobi. 
And as Obi-wan Kenobi, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca reach the vicinity of Alderann, they encounter an asteroid belt instead.

Isn’t there something quite extraordinary we can learn by entering the imagination of writer/director George Lucas? What does the annihilation of Alderaan mean to us, on Earth today? Is there a message here?

George Lucas Sun, representing his heart, vitality and creative power, is located precisely illuminating the discovery degree of Ceres in Taurus. So is he is the door-opener to the mystery of Ceres and the destruction of a planet in our Solar System thousands of years ago ? Isn’t it quite amazing that as the writer & director of Star Wars, he imaginatively recreated the moment when a Ceres-like planet (Alderaan) was blown apart by the “Dark side of the Force”.

We know that the asteroid belt sits between Mars and Jupiter, so let’s think about the symbolism. Mars and Jupiter could signify the warrior Son (Mars) and the King/Father of the Gods (Jupiter) and between them, the missing planet is the Mother Goddess Ceres. Was this a family battle between the Gods? 

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And here in the summer of 2021 it is no coincidence that I am writing this when both China & NASA are sending back pictures from the surface of Mars, while another space probe is sending back to us amazing pictures from Jupiter. These images and new discoveries about these two planets are seeding our collective consciousness. 

And only a few days ago I was reading two articles about the asteroids. One was a report by scientists about how the Asteroid Belt attacked the Dinosaurs and that the impact on Earth from an asteroid was the catastrophe that led to the extinction of the Dinosaur kingdom. It is widely accepted in scientific circles that a 10 km wide asteroid caused a 145 km wide crater when it crashed in the Yucatan peninsula about 66 million years ago.
The other article was describing how one of the giant golden asteroids NASA has been exploring, called Psyche 16, contains so much valuable heavy metals, such as platinum, iron, nickel & gold worth an estimated $10,000 quadrillion - that if harnessed and made available on Earth, every human being would become a billionare! Now there’s a thought….! 

And it’s also a thought that if we found the means to carry the asteroid back to Earth, it would destroy commodity prices and cause the world’s economy to collapse. Now there’s a radical Aquarian thought for the future! 

It might also interest you to know that NASA is launching a mission to probe the asteroid next summer 2022 yet the spacecraft will only arrive at Psyche 16 around 2026.

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The Eleusian Mysteries of ancient Greece

I am writing this Newsletter with focus upon the significance of CERES as part of the build-up to a fantastic weekend at The Magic Garden, north of Copenhagen, 4-5 September, The Magic Festival will also include a Panel discussion with international Guest Speakers around the theme of “THE MODERN ELEUSIS”

In next month’s Newsletter I will be including my Report of these proceedings – but if you lIve in Fredensborg or Copenhagen or nearby, then book today to reserve your seat at this great event.

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The ancient Greek Eleusian Mysteries revolved around Demeter/Ceres and Persephone and were all about the promise of rebirth and eternal life. 

Persephone was abucted by Hades/Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, so she became Queen of the Underworld. Yet the underworld of the Mysteries was not a permanent destination, as indeed we find out through Persephone’s ascent out of the underworld and her renion with her mother – and thus life, growth and fertility, the return of Spring. This was the most important part of the Eleusinian Mysteries. So the daughter Persephone’s story is another variation on the theme of the underworld journey.

Now although all astrologers will immediately identify the archetype of Pluto with the alchemy of death & rebirth, yet there is a very strong case for reinstating the birth-death-rebirth cycle to the astrological Ceres.

Ceres often reveals herself very strongly when a major life passage is taking place, such as a birth, a death, when we lose the very thing we believe we need to live, a partner, professional status, financial security.

Indeed, I could also produce client examples of a Ceres-Pluto aspect on the birth chart that produces loss of child and in some case return of the child, which teaches that one cannot become attached to the life that one has created and nurtured.

The famous 1960s Guru, Timothy Leary, was born with Ceres conjunct Pluto in the sign Cancer, and he used LSD hallucingenics to experience transformational states including the death passage. Scientist Albert Einstein was also born with Ceres conjunct Pluto, in the sign of Taurus, and he founded the Theory of Relativity which totally transformed the preexisting concepts about the nature of the Universe.

It was more than 30 years ago that I first encountered the potency of Ceres.  I was dialoging with a well-known Danish-Norwegian female astrologer who specialized in the fertility cycle and assisting women to become pregnant. I asked her if she employed Ceres in her methods and her reply was that she hadn’t much faith in such a small asteroid.  And my reply was to show her that in her own horoscope, she had Ceres rising exactly in conjunction to her Virgo Ascendant! It was an important revelation to us both of the potency of Ceres.

Ceres traditionally represents the supportive and creative feminine functions, which includes physical nurturing such as food, as well as the teaching and education of children. Ceres represents farming, gardening, food-related services and health awareness. In the Greek myth, the mother Ceres/Demeter’s loss of her daughter to the Underworld God, produced half of the year where no crops would grow, life was withdrawn during the seasons of autumn & winter, as the Mother experienced her mourning as she searched for her daughter. The dark side of Ceres is of course, the dark side of food which is famine.  One illuminating example from history would be the Irish nation and the potato.

Shortly after this South American plant had been brought back across the Atlantic at the end of the 16th. Century, one nation became almost wholly dependent on it for food. As the Irish population soared between 1650-1840 from just 1 miliion to 8 million, and then with a succession of failed harvests, collapsed in horrifying scnes of mass starvation. The consequences included the mass emigratiion of the Irish to the USA which was to change the whole pattern of American immigration and to have an enormous impact on the nature of American society. And it all began with the potato!

There is an obvious interdependent relationship of humans with our planet foods. Modern research has confirmed that this extends beyond just the plants themselves to the micronutrients in the soil and mycorrhizal network – both we and the plants are bound up the entire food web. So Ceres makes us look at relationships of nourishment beyond just those of parent & child, to a network of interdependencies.

 As the “mother” Ceres is especially important in matters of pregnancy or problems with fertility. The increase of men as father’s participating in childbirth and child-rearing, is also a major theme that indicates the increasing influence of Ceres in our modern life. 

I certainly can testify to this personally as I have Ceres in my 5th. House of Children, and have been present at the birth of all 3 of my kids.

As Life & Death are inextricably entwined, so too will we find Ceres prominent in times of death. In my client work I have many examples of this, and one that springs to mind is transit Ceres in conjunction to a father’s Scorpio Ascendant when his eldest daughter committed suicide.

Then there is the Climate Change debate – yet what about the rise of suicides? We have no statistics yet that show the impact of the global pandemic upon current suicide rates – yet we can be almost certain that it has risen. Back in 2012 American military suicides hit a record high, surpassing combat deaths in Afganistan for the first time in recorded history. 

Suicide among youths in USA has surpassed the number of deaths from traffic accidents for the first time in history. Suicide among youths between the ages 10-24 is the third leading cause of death in the USA. One in six High School students have seriously considered suicide and one in 12 have attempted it. And suicide rates among 34-65 year olds has risen by 28% from 1999 to 2010, with the rate for women rising faster than that for men.

And if ever we want to see the increasing potency of Ceres during our current times – then let’s reflect upon the Covid-19 world pandemic.  Ceres is associated with the grieving process and there certainly has been much of that on a global scale the past 2 years.

So as CERES moves into her power as a Dwarf planet, after 200 years of secret gestation in asteroid status – we should seriously consider the fact that we are currently living through a KIND OF BARDO STATE now!

The inscrutable mystery of the passage between death & rebirth – the BARDO STATE – belongs to CERES. We see the death and we see the rebirth. What happens in-between is beyond our scrutiny, just as was the reenactment of the Eleusian Mysteries in the temples of Ceres, and before that, Ceres’s period of wandering in disguise.

The old order built on fossil feuls, capitalism, war & the myth of limitless expansion is dying. The future is uncertain. To be alive on the planet now is to be in a liminal space – between death and rebirth.

If the myth of Ceres is one of loss, it is however, also one of return, of death but also rebirth. Reminding us that loss makes way for new birth, Ceres can teach us the lesson of letting-go.

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Part 2: Events

The Jupiter School of Astro-Psychology

1-Year Training  - 6 Weekend Workshops

STARTS 18-19 September

Physical participation & Online Students

Jupiter Center, Son, Norway

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The Jupiter School of Divination

1-Year Training – 6 Weekend Workshops

STARTS 2-3 October 2021

Physical participation & Online Students

Jupiter Center, Son, Norway

Info: derek@seagrief.com

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“The Magic Festival”

Music, Art & Ritual 

4-5 September

at The Magic Garden

Fredensborg, Denmark

Panel Discussion with International Guest Speakers:

“The Modern Eleusis”

“The Search for a new Planetary Myth”

And

Celebration of Stanislav Grof’s 90 year birthday

Link: https.//new.themagicgarden.dk/

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LIBRA Newsletter Late/Sept./October 2021

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Derek’s Newsletter – August 2021