ASTROLOGY

Zodiacal Signatures
in
the Ten Commandments
HE TWO TABLETS on which the

T Ten Commandments were inscribed

FIRST COMMANDMENT
Thou shall have no other gods before me.
The first Commandment is attuned to the first
sign, Aries. This is the zodiacal power under which
the Fire principle of the Elohim made its initial
manifestation. Primal substance was then in an
undifferentiated state. Divine life was equally pre-
sent in all spirit-matter throughout universal space.
The purpose of evolution is to bring individual
self-consciousness, and from that state, universal
self-consciousness.
Engraving, Luther Bible, published in Regensberg, 1756
SECOND COMMANDMENT Since incarnate Love (Grace and Truth) came as the fulfill-
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven ment of the Mosaic Law, Christ is prefigured in the Old
image, or any likeness of anything that is in heav- Testament and its commandments. Therefore He says,
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
en above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is life: and they are they which testify of me.”—John 5:39
in the water under the earth;
Thou shaft not bow down thyself to them; for I humanly conceived object, can circumscribe
the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the Deity.
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the God is Light; He is Fire—an all-consuming Fire.
third and fourth generation of them that hate me; He is a “jealous God,” and forbids setting up any
And showing mercy unto thousands of them that images in other elements. It must not be done in
love me, and keep my commandments heaven (Air; mind), or on Earth (physical posses-
In moving toward the goal of realizing God as sions, personalities, material things), or in Water
the one and only ensouling life in all the universe, (excessive emotional adorations or idealisms).
the second commandment requires that no part In its highest spiritual significance, the second
be worshiped as the whole. No graven image, no Commandment has to do with the original primal

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 pattern in the likeness of which all things are cre- FOURTH COMMANDMENT
ated. Taurus, the second sign, is feminine. It is the Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
home of the image-building faculty in man. The Sabbath is the seventh day, the number rep-
It was this faculty, linked to the heart or love resenting the completion of a cycle. It is, therefore,
principle, that fell in man. Consequently, the abili- the day on which God “rested.” Creative activity
ty to image forth a perfect pattern has been lost. was stilled in its outer manifestations. The purpose
Meanwhile, awaiting the time when the lost power of evolution is to enable man, a god-in-the-mak-
shall be regained, the command goes forth to make ing, to express progressively his latent divine pow-
no “graven images,” since all such are imperfect ers in the production of the “new heaven and new
representations of the Perfect One. earth,” a spiritualized mind and a regenerate body.
To bow down before imperfect images con- That this sublime work may be consummated, it is
ceived by man brings discord and inharmony; to necessary for humanity to so live that every
live in accord with the perfect pattern is to receive moment in this vast sevenfold cycle of time is
His mercy and dwell in harmony with cosmic Law. devoted to high and holy purpose.
The word sabbath is composed of the Hebrew
THIRD COMMANDMENT letters Shin (Sun), Beth ( house ) and Tau ( Ego or
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God spirit). With the dawning of the Sabbath Day, the
in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that end of the present cycle, the light of spirit will illu-
taketh his name in vain. mine the body (house) of man with the radiance of
This Commandment applies to the power of the Sun. The god within shall then have come into
speech, for speech is creative and sacred. But it complete manifestation and “the earth shall be full
covers much more. Speech is one expression of the of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover
creative force in man; physical generation is the sea.”
another. To use that force for any idle or illegiti- Cancer is the sign of the home (body) in which
mate purpose is to take the name of the Lord God dwells the Ego. This is the sign of the Cherubim,
in vain. wardens of the sacred life force. The way of holi-
That name is I AM. It is the creating and build- ness, as outlined in the fourth of the cosmic Words,
ing God-power within. To misuse that force is to is to be found through the conservation of that cre-
break this Commandment, and for that wrong God ative fire. “Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for
does not hold man guiltless. This is the unforgiv- it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall
able sin that must be expiated by a weakened mind surely be put to death.”
and body until the law of life is scrupulously
respected. FIFTH COMMANDMENT
The name I AM bore the same significance for Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days
an Initiate of the Old Dispensation that the name may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God
Christ Jesus does for an Initiate of the New. giveth thee.
Whatsoever we ask in that name shall come to This Commandment is keyed to the love sign,
pass, according to the Master’s promise. “In His Leo. Honor to parents, the earthly reflectors of our
name” the initiated followers of the Christ healed Father-Mother God, is based on love. Ancestor
the sick and brought new life to the dead—those worship among earlier races—and its survival
dead to the realization of their true spiritual nature. among their lineal descendants, the Mongolians—
Gemini, the third sign, correlates to this is based on a realization of this correspondence
Commandment. It governs speech. It is dual. On and the sacredness of the relationship between
its higher side it recognizes the sanctity of the I Creator and the thing created.
AM; on its lower side it takes that sacred name Cosmically, father refers to the masculine Fire
(force) in vain (misuse). principle; mother the feminine Water principle.
The one is spirit projected by will; the other is

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 matter receptive in love. The first is Leo, the sec- ever upward to develop its potential powers and
ond Cancer. The fifth Word unites the two tables of consciously reunite itself with its source. When
the law by the unifying, cohesive power of love. man awakens to this truth, there will be no more
When the Sun passes through Cancer and Leo it homicides, no capital punishment, no war, no wan-
reaches its northernmost declination. The exact time ton destruction of life in any form. The voice of
is midsummer, season of the Summer Solstice. Virgo commands, “Thou shalt not kill.”
Fire and Water meet at that point, alchemically
speaking. The powers operating on Earth and its SEVENTH COMMANDMENT
life waves are most potent at that time. Cosmically, Thou shaft not commit adultery.
to honor father and mother is to establish equilib- As the sixth Commandment relates, astrologi-
rium in nature between these two forces; mystical- cally, to the forces of the three signs, Virgo, Libra,
ly, it is the blending of the principles within the and Scorpio, the seventh relates to the ninth sign in
body of man. Its perfect accomplishment means the zodiacal circle of twelve.
Initiation. Such a one will be “long upon the land Sagittarius is not associated with adultery in the
which the Law” establishes for him. sense that the term is ordinarily used. Its signifi-
cance in this commandment is more extensive,
SIXTH COMMANDMENT embracing not only adultery of the carnal nature
Thou shalt not kill. but also of the mind. Mind is the Path. If mind
Virgo, the Virgin, is the sign of chaste and harm- leads in forbidden directions, the purposes of spir-
less life. She brings the death-dealing beast under it working through it are frustrated.
control. Ancient Wise Men declared that those who Sagittarius rules the higher mind. To misuse its
had come into possession of the inner powers of forces—which are of the same nature as those used
Virgo could handle venomous serpents without for physical generation—is to commit adultery on
injury. This was the significance of the pictorial mental levels with consequences similar to those
symbol for the sign used in early Mystery Schools, resulting from its commission on the physical
representing the Virgin as closing the mouth of a level, only raised to a higher power. “Ye have
lion. heard that it was said by them of old time,”
Scorpio was once counted as the sixth sign. It declared Christ Jesus in the sermon on the Mount,
governs generation, from which humanity either “‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’: But I say unto
falls into degeneration or arises through regenera- you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust
tion. Before the Fall, Scorpio embraced all that is after her hath committed adultery with her already
now governed by Virgo. The two signs were one. in his heart.” The seventh Commandment will be
After the Fall came separation—Scorpio govern- obeyed in all its implications when we have ful-
ing what henceforth became known as the carnal filled Paul’s Sagittarian injunction: “Be ye trans-
nature; Virgo, the spiritual. About 600 B.C. the formed by the renewing of your mind.”
Greeks placed a sign between the two. This was
Libra, the scales, wherein man is weighed in the EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
balance to determine whether he goes the way of Thou shalt not steal.
the flesh (Scorpio) or the way of spirit ( Virgo). When consciousness transcends separative, per-
Libra was called the Trial Gate by the ancients for sonal functioning and enters into the universal and
the same reason. impersonal, there can be no more commission of
A realization of Virgo’s ideal brings a compas- theft. The higher knowing which forbids this
sion that forbids needless injury to the least of comes under the rays of Capricorn. Under that sign
God’s creatures. All forms of life are recognized as the Master Jesus incarnated; in that sign the Christ
various manifestations of the One Life and, there- within awakens. When this higher consciousness is
fore, sacred. Through many forms in all the king- developed, all things are viewed as existing for the
doms of nature life in manifestation is struggling benefit of the whole. Seeking nothing for himself

42 RAYS 02
 alone, a person shares in the universal wealth. He
holds nothing as his only and, therefore, possesses Rosicrucian Song of the Light
all. Having all, there is nothing to steal.
In the Christ concept, thought is centered on giv- O threefold radiance of the sun,
ing, not getting. There is a realization that all men O robe of life divine,
stand or fall together; that the gain of one is the Through whom, o’er all the universe,
gain of all, and the loss of one is the loss of all. The Our triune God doth shine;
soul that functions on this level of spiritual realiza-
O stars and planets and soft moon,
tion shares in the strength and the weakness, the
Who traverse heavenly ways,
victories and the defeats of all. Knowing himself to
And with a wide diversity
be a part of the whole, he labors for the redemption
Reflect the solar rays;
of all. Together with the Christ, in whose spirit he
works, he takes upon himself the burden of the From all the kingdoms of the earth,
world and is committed to the cause of humanity’s From man and beast and bird,
liberation therefrom. From tree and plant, from soil and stone
Acclaiming praise be heard.
NINTH COMMANDMENT
Thou shall not bear false witness against thy Jehovah’s rays of red create
neighbor. All forms that serve and die;
Aquarius is the sign of brotherhood and friend- The whirling atoms take new shape,
ship. There can be no false witness borne by those Drawn by His energy.
living true to its ideals. The spirit of fellowship, the
sign of the Son of Man in manifestation, forbids it. Christ’s golden rays in matter forge
Moreover, this highly keyed sign, of which Uranus New vistas for the light;
is the ruler, governs the finer forces in nature and Evolving roses come to birth,
the psychic faculties in man. Thus, it reveals truth Unfolded through His might.
and exposes error, rendering false witness of no The Father’s rays of blue, in form
avail. As Aquarius gains in strength in the con- The seed of life bestow,
sciousness of man, thoughts will be seen as words That, through in-dwelling, spirit may
are now heard, and a thing will be recognized for In conscious wisdom grow.
what it really is.
Accept our worship, God of light,
TENTH COMMANDMENT From spirit, body, soul;
Thou shalt not covet. May all Thy children rise and be
Disobedience of the tenth Word results in break- One praising, shining whole.
ing of every Commandment that is written on the
second Table of the Law. There is a sense in which —Margaret Grant
it includes the preceding six laws.
Covetousness is often the reason for dishonoring The last Commandment comes under the last
parents. Indulgence in this sin many times results sign, Pisces. So too, does the human race. Jupiter,
in the taking of life and is often the reason for com- ruler of Pisces, inspires generosity; Neptune, exalt-
mitting adultery. The subtle and insidious sin of ed in Pisces, impresses the race consciousness with
covetousness frequently motivates theft and the the spiritual unity of all Egos in the body of God.
bearing of false witness. Every phase of human Jupiter’s influence touches the masses; Neptune’s,
relationship is thrown into inharmonious reaction the sensitive few. Together they create the type of con-
by the breaking of this Commandment, the most sciousness wherein covetousness cannot dwell. ❐
far-reaching in effect of the Ten Words. —Corinne Heline

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