Out with the Old, In with the New!
Welcome to Satya Center’s Gemini Solar Festival of Goodwill, Sagittarius Full Moon Eclipse 2013 Cosmic Weather Forecast, brought to you by your Editors, Curtis Lang and Jane Sherry.
 |
| Lenticular Cloud Formation Over Our House in Antioch, California, Photo by Jane Sherry |
The Full Moon occurs this Friday, May 24, at 9:25 PM Pacific Time, or at Saturday 12:25 AM East Coast time at 5° of Sagittarius, opposed by the Sun at 5° of Gemini.
It’s been a very busy month for Jane and myself here in Antioch, California, with lots of drama and many opportunities for fear, worry and upset to surface in every area of life. We have had close friends lose beloved elders who have chosen to leave the Planet, friends who are suffering from mysterious and severe illnesses and other miscellaneous challenges arising every day.
We have also experienced a tremendous sense of healing this month, after the trauma of the death of Jane’s Dad at the end of March, our Mother’s Day sale was successful, and we are feeling a new phase of life beginning for us. We thank all of you who wrote in to send their prayers and condolences and inquired after Jane’s mom’s health. She is doing remarkably well for a woman who is 90 years old & continues to enjoy good health and independence.
In the East San Francisco Bay area our friendly neighboring fruit farmers are experiencing an early strawberry and stone-fruit harvest, and the harvest looks to be quite remarkable in quality and quantity.
We are eating several amazing varieties of cherries, strawberries, and stone fruit of all kinds, along with unexpected vegetable treats like kambucha squash, which we know as a winter vegetable on the East Coast. Back east, we would have been planting peas, string beans and many of the other foods farmers here have harvested from beneath row covers for weeks! We've even got yummy cherries shaped like little hearts!
We have weathered a tough series of mini-heat waves the last few weeks and now we have entered a phase of mild, cool days and nights with totally sunny skies, punctuated by occasional windstorms that create stunning lenticular clounds above nearby Mt. Diablo. These unusual cloud formations, called "flying saucer clouds", dominate the horizon and hover above our neighborhood, lending a mysterious aura to our skies. You can see a picture of the lenticular clouds above the neighbor’s house in the photo at the top of the page.
On the spiritual level, on the level of subtle energy, we have weathered a patch of turbulence that opened up during the period spanned by the two eclipses last month, which has been marked by numerous phone calls and emails from Lightworkers and seekers who are experiencing all kinds of difficulties and seeking physical, emotional and mental healing.
We can say with confidence to all those confronting challenges of all kinds in their lives that NOW is the time to let go of old ways of thinking, old ways of living, old ways of coping with stress, and outdated mental maps of the world.
NOW is the time to open up to new inspiration, coming to us at this Festival of Goodwill, for the eclipse is a time of endings and new beginnings.
Esoteric astrologer Malvin Artley provides a panoramic view of the current Celestial Climate in his new article entitled THE GEMINI GOODWILL FESTIVAL 2013 & FULL MOON IN SAGITTARIUS and discusses the long-term significance of this pivotal moment in history.
“The Sabian symbols for the luminaries are of particular interest this year given the preceding and the various religious conflicts in the world,” Malvin says. “They read as follows:
A revolutionary magazine asking for action. Sun, 5 Gemini
An old owl sits alone on the branch of a large tree. Moon, 5 Sagittarius
“The combination of these two symbols suggests the juxtaposition of experience and untested ideas, and the difference between the results that come from rash action, as represented by the solar symbol, and patient waiting, as represented by the lunar symbol,” Malvin continues.
“In this month's full moon eclipse figure we see a t-square formed by the full moon axis with Neptune at the apex,” Malvin explains. “There is nothing to be feared in this. What is suggested in this figure and eclipse series is one of unexpected events that bring people together in dialogue for the purpose of overcoming perceived injustices, world need, world conflict and blindness as to the greater possibilities before us.”
Turbulence, pain, and suffering has come to seem as the new normal since the onset of the series of Uranus-Pluto squares that began with the global financial meltdown 2007-8 and extend throughout the next several years.
We had another of those epochal squares this last Monday, right after the celebration of Pentecost, which only added to the energetic turbulence encountered during this series of eclipses.
However the Feast of Pentecost, which celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples of Christ and their attainment of a newly expanded spiritual consciousness 50 days after Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday, brought us a deep feeling of peace, acceptance and love that has continued to grow this week, despite the difficulties and turbulence we are encountering in the world around us.
It’s not too late to focus on the meaning of this beautiful spiritual Festival. Read our article entitled Pentecost Sunday: Speaking in Tongues, Kundalini Awakening and Christ Consciousness and tune into the energy of Pentecost.
It’s never too late to focus on love as an antidote to the fear, warmongering, greed and suffering so many are dealing with right now all over the world.
In this article we focus on the similarities between the Holy Spirit of the Christian tradition, the Mercury of the alchemists, and the awakening of kundalini energy in the yogic tradition. As we reflect on these Mysteries at the time we celebrate this Full Moon Festival of Goodwill we affirm the Unity of Humanity and extend our love to those of all spiritual traditions and religions around the world.
“This being the Gemini interval of the year and this full moon marking the last of the three major spiritual festivals, we are reminded of the unity in our diversity, of the value of seeing differing points of view, of conflict as a possible means to achieving understanding and a more beautiful expression of life – although this more often than not leads to exactly the opposite given the nature of our desires – and more than all else, the need for a truer relation between the ‘higher and the lower’, of which religion was always meant to be the representative,” Malvin reminds us.
Celebrating the Festival of Goodwill
This Full Moon marks the third great spring spiritual festival following Easter and Wesak, known as the Festival of Goodwill, also known as the Festival of Humanity.
This is the day that the Ascended Master Guides and Teachers of all the Mystery Schools of the East and West join together to light the flame of inner wisdom in the minds of humanity - known as Buddha Mind to the Initiates of the East. This Full Moon eclipse is the moment when the Ascended Masters light the flame of unconditional love in the heart of humanity.
This is the third of the three great spring festivals of the Universal Interfaith Spirituality of the New Age. The first festival of Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The second festival celebrates the birth of the Buddha, his enlightenment and death, and is called Wesak. Wesak was celebrated during last month’s full moon. The Festival of Humanity is the third.
The Festival of Humanity follows fast upon the Christian feast of Pentecost, which is appropriate because Pentecost is a Feast celebrating the Ascension practices of an entire community -- the community of the Apostles of Jesus Christ, who were transformed on Pentecost by a visit from the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost occurred on May 19, 2013, and the spiritual benefits of that Feast are still resonating in the etheric body of the Earth this weekend.
The Pentecost Blessing impelled the Apostles to travel the Earth, and resulted in the establishment of the Christian religion and the spread of Christian Mystery School practices to hundreds of millions of people over the centuries.
When the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost, they entered a higher state of consciousness, and traveled near and far, spreading their Teacher’s message of love fearlessly throughout the world. The Apostles healed many by prayer and the laying on of hands. The miraculous events of Pentecost bear a startling resemblance to the signs of enlightenment discussed for thousands of years in the ancient Hindu tradition of yoga.
Read more about the mysterious correspondences between the practices of the yogis and the experience of the Pentecost Blessing in our article:
Pentecost Sunday: Speaking in Tongues, Kundalini Awakening and Christ Consciousness.
The Festival of Humanity is also a Feast celebrating the distribution of blessings, empowerment and the gifts of the Holy Spirit to a globally distributed network of disciples, seekers, Lightworkers, and meditators.
During June’s Full Moon Festival of Humanity, the love of Christ and the wisdom of the Buddha are showered down upon the Earth. At this time, spiritual disciples of all paths and lineages and religions around the world receive inspiration and instructions concerning their roles and duties for the upcoming year.
The Hierarchy of Spiritual Guides and Teachers overseeing humanity’s spiritual evolution join with the Cosmic Christ and provide a roadmap of the coming seasonal cycle to all disciples, planting the seeds for all the spiritual activities that disciples are being urged to undertake during the next year.
Most importantly, the Hierarchy and the Cosmic Christ engulf the entire planet with a powerful high-frequency energetic charge known as The Will to Good, which is distributed through power-spots around the world to all willing recipients.
This energy acts as a powerful stimulant, strengthening the will forces in struggling humanity, and acts as a beneficent power surge, impelling disciples on all paths to internalize the energy of Goodwill, to act with Goodwill toward all, and to strive to establish right human relations in all their activities.
The energy released on the Full Moon Festival of Humanity circulates throughout the etheric body of planet Earth for three full nights and days.
The Festival of Humanity is one of the three great Festivals that were established by the Theosophists during the early part of the 20th century as part of a drive to establish a global spiritual practice that would embrace all religions and spiritual paths around the world, uniting the wisdom teachings of East and West. Alice Bailey, who coined the term “New Age”, was the instrument for telepathic communication from Ascended Master Guides and Teachers who wished to create these Festivals as the cornerstone of a new spirituality for all humanity.
The following information is from the Lucis Trust website, and the Lucis Trust is the organization that is carrying forward the work of Alice Bailey in the present time worldwide.
“The widespread sense that [humanity is] reaching a turning point is founded in the esoteric recognition that our planet is facing a crisis so sweeping that it is affecting even the highest levels of existence upon our planet, in preparation for the attaining of a new balance,” explains the Lucis Trust 2012 newsletter concerning the three great spiritual festivals. “The timing of this crisis was underscored in a passage from the writings of Alice Bailey dated February 1949 which spoke of ‘the finality of the decision which the next two generations will be forced to make’. If a generation is approximately 25 to 30 years, that time of decision is now.”
“The new group of world servers is the name given in the Alice Bailey writings to the subjective network of servers who act as a mediating group, a bridge, between the Hierarchy and humanity. Its members are all those men and women of intelligent goodwill who are actively engaged, consciously or unconsciously, in serving the divine Plan. This group includes representatives in all fields of human endeavour who are working to establish right human relations and to bring in the new ideas on which a sounder, more integrated world, in which the forces of spirit and matter are more correctly balanced, must be based.”
Practices for the Festival of Humanity
All those who wish to participate in this Festival of Humanity with the New Group of World Servers would do well to set aside some time during the evening of the Full Moon and for the next two nights for deep meditation.
To enhance your receptivity to these beneficent energies try these activities on the three nights of the Festival and throughout the coming week:
If you are unable to meditate at the exact time of the full moon, choose a time within 12 hours before or after the full moon to be part of this global meditation.
Simply sit alone, or join with other like-minded individuals and visualize the planet Earth surrounded by a grid of light.
The Christ Consciousness Grid, actually a set of seven grids in rainbow colors that surrounds the Earth, is in the form of a pentagonal dodecahedron with icosahedral caps. The Grid is said to play a crucial part in the quickening of humanity’s evolving spiritual consciousness at this time.
”Sacred geometry is the expression of geometry related to the evolution of consciousness, mind, body, and spirit in geometric terms,” explains Ronald Holt, Director of Flower of Life Research. “True sacred geometry is not just static angular forms. It is organic and living -- it is in constant evolution (transcendence) or devolution (materialization), ascending or descending from one form to another.”
“So the grid of the planet is an actual geometric and energetic expression of the principles of creation that can serve as a bridge between our planet's physical and energetic manifestations. To get an idea of how vast the grid actually is, let's look first at our planet. On this planet, in order for the smallest particle, element or compound to congeal and materialize, it needs a blueprint and a template for its construction and purpose of existence.”
By tuning in to this matrix of light and consciousness on this Full Moon weekend, and by consciously focusing our intent to unite our energies with all individuals of good will around the world during a day of global meditation, humanity opens a door into the spiritual world, through which the many Ascended Masters of the Wisdom Schools both East and West can pour blessings and specific guidance appropriate to the time and place and situation of each and every person taking part in World Invocation Day.
At the Goodwill Festival the Spiritual Hierarchy, guided by the Christ, showers the Will-to-Good upon Planet Earth. The New Group of World Servers receives and distributes these energies into the world.
So, join in the worldwide meditation, asking that all individuals be given the grace and guidance they need during this coming year to fulfill their loftiest spiritual goals.
Pray that all those working for peace, justice and restoration of this Garden Planet be given the will forces, the courage, the energy, the endurance and the opportunity to be of maximum service in the world.
Connect through the Christ Consciousness Grid with your fellow Lightworkers, feel their presence, and seek to unite with them during this festival.
Open yourself to receive the blessings being poured down by Humanity’s Wisdom Teachers, both incarnate and disincarnate, and prepare to receive messages of loving wisdom designed to help accelerate your spiritual and material progress throughout the coming seasons of summer, fall and winter.
Ask for the courage to pursue your path of Light, your own Higher Purpose, for the benefit of your own spiritual advancement, your own families, your loved ones, and all of humanity, despite any fears or other faults you may have. For May 2013 is the time of the awakening of the Spiritual Warrior within.
Place a flower on your altar or near your place of meditation. Place a bowl of water on your altar or near your seat. If you have some water you gathered during the Wesak Full Moon Festival, use that water at this time as an offering to Grandmother Earth.
If possible, light a candle to represent the kindling of the spirit, the awakening of the Higher Mind and the flame of compassion lit within the open heart. You may also burn some incense or sage, to create a spiral pathway from earth to sky, sending an offering to those Beings of Light who join their energies to ours during this Full Moon Festival.
If you like, you may say the Theosophist’s Great Invocation aloud:
“From the point of light within the mind of God let light stream forth into our minds. Let light descend on Earth.
From the point of love within the heart of God let love stream forth into our hearts. May love increase on Earth.
From the Center where the will of God is known, let purpose guide our wills, the purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the Center which we call humanity let the plan of love and light work out, and may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let light and love and power restore the plan on Earth. Let light and love and power restore the plan on Earth. Let light and love and power restore the planet Earth.”
Then sit in meditation, for as long as is suitable for you.
Finally, when you are finished, thank your fellow lightworkers, the New Group of World Servers, the Spiritual Guides and Teachers of the Wisdom Schools of the East and West, and Grandmother Earth.
Drink the water in your bowl, save for a small amount, which you may sprinkle on living plants or grasses, preferably outside your dwelling, as a final offering to the Earth, and to the devas and nature spirits who work so diligently to optimize, structure and regulate the forces vivifying the natural world.
Meditation Moment
« When spring comes, we can begin to be nourished by the rays of the rising sun, for light is the best food there is. And the pure air, the awakening earth, the surrounding trees also feed us if we know how to be good cooks! Yes, cooks. Using our thoughts and our love, we can make delicious dishes from all these elements.
The spiritual life is nourishment. It is the art of turning everything we receive from outside into wisdom, goodness, power and peace. We take part in this transformation firstly by placing all our attention on the rising sun. Then, we return to our everyday activities, always feeling replete, stronger and richer. Yes, richer, because the light we have received from the sun is gold, etheric gold, and this gold is worth more than all the ingots amassed in banks. » -- Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
Jane and I see you all surrounded by love and light this Full Moon Festival, and our wish is that you be granted the grace and guidance you need to achieve your goals in life, along with many golden opportunities to be of maximum service in the world!
Love and Light from Curtis and Jane
Photo credits:
Clip art, except photos of Lenticular Clouds over Antioch, heart-shaped cherries from our local farmer's market, Satya Center Spring Altar, and Jane and Curtis in the Redwoods near Santa Cruz, all by Jane Sherry.