The potential for heroism exists inwardly in advance of its outer expression, and can be felt as a deep-seated need for recognition of one’s capacity for dedicated self-effacing service. Even though such behaviour often stimulates society’s need to raise up an individual to the rank of leader, strutting and proclaiming this potential is inelegant and avoided by the wiser individual.

Additionally, the time and energy spent in the process of gaining broader experience is an efficient method to stimulate personal growth, and this itself has the effect of gradually widening one’s social relevance to a certain level, which equates to one’s heroic station.


Such experiences also stimulate an awakening of a genius for dramatizing life’s possibilities. This calls forth a cornucopia of fruits and riches that point to the abundance that any individual might access by following the leader’s example of effective, creative, courageous, life management.


There unfolds in the individual a great resourcefulness to develop new areas of practical experience, which with continual effort, leads to social and political gains. However, we need to remember that an idealistic leader, who may well be completely integrated within normal humdrum society, will still always be measured and also challenged for position. It goes with the job, and helps to keep alive the very skills and wisdom that qualify the leader for the position.

Rising above the pack, one is exalted by one’s personal vision and character. Other concerns are subordinated, so that the compelling goal of living actually becomes nothing more than the demonstration and presentation of one’s values as a teaching to guide others.

Continual self-dedication is a life path that brings as its reward the burden of social stewardship. With it comes the opportunity to disclose a profound practical understanding of one’s fellows, their circumstances and challenges.


Recognition, which once was sought after by an immature youth yearning to find self-realization, is now understood to be a sword that cuts with two edges, the one self-serving, the other social; one cuts away external dross, the other cuts inwardly. And whereas the first award gave intoxicating unlooked-for joy, the second suggests that a third is to be expected in due course. The burden to meet expectations becomes a dimension heavier, the path a degree more serious.

Capricorn 23

The self has a direction, and life is the expression of that. It is unimpeachable. We are not victims of circumstances or external forces, we are not subject to another’s will unless it is our will to be so. This is the set of life, it is so.

The square symbolizes materiality because it illustrates the principle of four, as does physicality through the four elements. Yet it is all symbolic, even materiality itself is illusion when taken separately from its cause.

Despite its illusionary quality, materiality has a valid, in fact, an extremely important function, and that is to serve. Every single human impulse is readily translated into material expression, so that physicality serves to make known what otherwise would only exist in the realm of imagination and thought.

The more passionate is the degree of impulse, and the more self-motivated is the energy behind it, the more solidly obvious is the manifestation of it. Thus there is a measurement process that has an incorruptible legitimacy.

The fourness of materiality also points to its orderliness. Whatever we accept into consciousness becomes well ordered within the structure of all other aspects of reality, leaving no doubt as to its meaning and strength.

It does take strength to assert oneself against the many forces that constantly push and pull from all sides, and we must not surrender to the frustrations that arise, or else the integrity of true self will be lost to distortion.

Yet, for all that, life is essentially sustaining. It takes no more than the exact right amount of struggle and the exact right amount of surrender to keep a person on track.

Aries 6

It is good to notice any urge that we may feel to interfere in the private affairs of others, because this inclination speaks of our lack of appropriate self-centredness. We must develop inner control to contain ourselves and resist inappropriate concern for others’ business; otherwise confusion and diminished will results.

Nevertheless, all affairs interconnect. It is the function of genius to expand awareness of the interconnectedness between distinct things. The outer dimension of all things forms a network, while the inner depth is beyond reach, having a transcendent quality.

It requires a significant degree of attachment to connect with what is meaningful in a thing, because everyday living is complex. To grasp meaning through the fog of this complexity is beyond mind; it requires feelings also.

What emerges is the power of realization. This fills the gaps between things with the magnetism of awareness. It is then also seen that there is a link between all phases of existence. Therefore neither time nor space can separate things in essence, although of course in appearance they do.

With a vision of self, expanded throughout eternity and connected to all forms, self-specialization is the only refuge and the only wisdom.

If we try to be everything, then we are nothing, we have no substance, so we use the force of will to become something in particular – and we do that by focusing on the appearances of what occurs to us and forming our identity around that connection.

Maturity expresses itself through the practical application of the principle: that higher intelligence is responsible for lower. Therefore we serve those who have not our degree of awareness and we demonstrate this universality of involvement with compassion.

In turn, as lesser we serve higher; we take our place in the greater scheme with equal exaltation that we are participating in the Mystery. It is of no consequence whether master or slave because both depend upon the other for self-identification.

Scorpio 14

The mystery of life is not the same for everyone. Any attempt to impress ones perception upon another is vain. Such behavior rather shows of the teacher's need for attention, as an aspect of self-disclosure.

However, this impulse and its futility have a hidden importance: to stir up matters that would otherwise go unseen. To be known, knowledge must be experienced. Experience requires two sides – basically the presence and the absence of a quality or belief.

Which side of a duality is pertinent? The master reveals both aspects of his teaching by demonstrating pertinacity. Each student is given different material to work with, according to her degree and aptitude.

The essential self is always in danger due to inertia because ‘self’ is an energy configuration, therefore subject to entropy. Because it is kept awake when energized by conflict, the master chooses material of a provocative nature, in order to create a revolt in the student.

It takes this constant friction to maintain an uncompromising determination to fulfill ones potential. The highest vision is kept in view as a way to hold true to the integrity of the soul. This is done in order that determination becomes unshakable.

Otherwise, on the path of esoteric enquiry, one would be seduced by the magnetism of the mysteries and the challenge to expose them. There would be a real danger of losing touch with ordinary reality; impracticality and ineffectiveness would be the result.

As a life path, this degree offers constant proof that all is transient and nothing is what it seems. Ambition therefore is clearly foolish. Yet since all is folly, nothing is folly. Realizing this, one wins the freedom to be exactly what one is: nothing more, nothing less.

Taurus 16

A stable and fulfilling life requires us to develop and maintain loyalties. Without this, our need to demonstrate devotion is thwarted. And yet such loyalties are all too easily misplaced and need continual reappraisal.


From time to time it is meaningful and healthy to show where our loyalties lie. Such display is the authentic externalization of an inner truth, which could never even be known clearly were it not made obvious in public.

Our very individuality has no definition except as it is framed by the general background of what society holds as having value. It is irrelevant to a cat what you wear or say at an embassy ball, although to yourself and the other guests these things define you.

How you choose to behave eventually comes down to what has practical worth. A meaningful series of choices is arrived at by process of trial and error. To make this possible we have to discard what amounts to meaningless shows of conformity.


Civilization evolves within the creative tension held between the haves and have-nots. Whereas high-achievers may feel the need for recognition and reward in order to be motivated to their highest efforts to raise society, should this degenerate to a smug demand for privilege, then corruption and decay will soon follow.


The politics of exploitation are disguised with empty words, false smiles and crocodile tears. If there is to be justice and the general sense of well being that goes with it, then those of privilege must prioritize the use of their resources with good conscience.

One influences collective morality by demonstrating that one’s own life is stable. Any allegiances formed openly in the mistaken folly of youthful permissiveness are appropriately re-evaluated and corrected with the guidance of one’s own informed imagination.

Scorpio 12

Old things, old ways and old ideas can be nothing more than outworn evidence of a total lack of initiative, or an inner lack of vitality or courage. Old isn’t necessarily good.

And yet, delightfully, old structures can also speak of the enduring stability of the world at large, hinting at an eternal sense of security and well-being that places us in the present moment, yet with firm and ancient worldly roots.

Humanity has built objects of stone and wood that last for generations and have seen the rise and fall of empires, fashions and waves of historical change. We come to depend more for our sense of rightness on what is built by masons than what is built by governments and culture.

Each person can attend to their own requirements by expressing their needs in form and function, and such objects that are thus made tend to last, and take on a special worth within our sense of goodness and beauty.

In turn, nature has a way of integrating the best of these to enhance her already perfect beauty. Does the chipped, moss-clad, discoloured bridge diminish the scene? It does not; it seems to draw better attention to the loveliness of the stream it spans.

Each person can blend and integrate each other person – as do stream and bridge, which are in natural harmony, each enhancing the other’s essential features. All needs and ideals fit together to serve the eternal pattern, though only genius can see this.

What falls away, as ephemeral as dust upon the wind, is what does not serve and take its place usefully into this universal pattern of cosmic alignment.


Sagittarius 28

Our experience of ourselves is significantly modified by interaction with people and circumstances around us. As shown in competitive sports, through overcoming obstacles and observing others' efforts to rise up, animated to meet their own challenges, we are able to learn much of our greater potential.

Convention binds together a group of individuals and so helps the formation of society to rise to common challenges. Conventionality therefore is a measure of our willingness to abide by social constructs because we think we will gain personal advantage in doing so.

There is pressure to conform, and our adherence to terms may feel like a self-betrayal because of the loss of individuality. It is a question of balance: the urge to express a radiant self in harmony with our need to participate in society.

Conformity arising out of fear of authority is ill-founded and false. Self-perception of powerlessness requires us to look again in the depths of our being and awaken the confidence to overcome any pressure that attempts to deny us self-expression.

However, it is natural to gain experience and skill in the creative act of supervision. The calling upon like-minded associates, to a joint action that favors our required outcome, is evidence of self-competence on the level of practicality. It is supported.

Also natural is a disciplined sense of responsibility, which embraces the ethic of serving oneself in alignment with the common good. Community response is therefore felt to be useful, authentic feedback, whether presented as punishment or reward.

In adapting through this process of socialization, we learn acceptance and tolerance. Thus our own ideals are constantly revisited and upgraded. This is to reflect society's newly-discovered potential for dramatizing a set of principles higher than previous generations were able to demonstrate.

Capricorn 16

A primal assertive force presides within each of us, equivalent to the excitation indicated by an erect phallus, and stirred into expression by the imminence of new experience, into which we feel to inject an initiative. Those of us, who have watched the sun rise, know how all-pervasive and compellingly pure this feeling can be. We feel powerful, even in the face of the absolute life-giver.

Naively, we show our joyful exuberance by showing off our fine feathers, tying streamers to a party hat which catches the wind, so we are noticed and seen to be filled with life force.

In this mood we enter relationships with those around us and are ready to engage with any and all of the possible variations and novelties that humanity throws up.

We come to realise that we can utilise all life experiences, all kinds of interactions and involvements, to the benefit of all concerned, simply by having sensitivity and responding positively to the potential in all situations.

Every scenario is new; each moment has its own dawn, its own birthing of potential – and the one who sees it first can claim it, and integrate much of the great force of its life energy into their growing expression of self.

It does not serve to posture or pretend, because a false interest or involvement leads to unhelpful kickback. The required commitment is an absolute, unconditional assertiveness – half-hearted warriors die.

At its highest level, this person can find the underlying trend, and actually see it as their life purpose, to which they are able to offer complete and unconditional cooperation in every moment.

Aries 8

That which distinguishes us from others is the ego; it gives shape to a unique set of attitudes, beliefs, habits and perceptions that spin the divine message into its own pattern of expression.

Interaction with the world at large subjects each of us to the spin of others, and we would become dizzily disoriented if the ego had less aplomb; it actually needs to feel a little self-important to do its job.

Constancy of change creates the illusion of superficiality; it often seems that not much in life has meaning or even consequence. Yet this view is itself a reflection of the instability of an underdeveloped ego. By investing more in the details of what’s happening, here and now, during ordinary, conventional and mundane events, the ego can develop its necessary strength.

Then what ripens within a mature individual is a masterly efficiency to bring a measure of control and stability even to non-ordinary events – those unfolding during the transitional stages of evolutionary, or possibly revolutionary, crises.

Having mastered two important control issues – what to influence and how to exert that influence – then the possibility arises to demonstrate a rising above the ego, a spiritual lightness of being. This hints at one’s exalted station, speaks of the soul’s essential freedom, and is akin to the cheering effect of sunlight.

There is a test of relevance. So much of what seems superficial and trivial is indeed truly trivial and should be ignored if we are to avoid wastage of our own precious life force through careless diffusion. What is and what is not perceived as trivial remains at the discretion of the individual.

Transiency – symbolised by the racing of clouds across a windy sky – stimulates a renewal of vitality. Each momentary scene is a picture of how various forces have found dynamic equilibrium to express one particular fleeting truth of existence; each new scenario is another examination to see if we can handle it elegantly.

Taurus 20

It is perfectly meaningful to approach life with a reckless sense of liberation, with unfettered confidence that it is simply a dance of sorts, whose purpose is to facilitate the exhibition of each and every special aspect and potential of selfhood.

This approach is supported when one trusts that the relationship between an individual and nature itself is essentially friendly. What could show this more than spirit and nature together dancing down the sun like an innocent girl child?

Evidence is found for this also in the very fact of the life-giving properties bestowed upon us by natural elements. Do we not all feel invigorated by the wind, rain, sun and stars?

What is going on, in and through the individual, is the operation of universal law reworking reality by sorting and resorting, sifting and shifting, in an ever-dynamic review and reveal process.

As a direct result of his enthusiastic willingness to participate in this continuous dynamism, at whatever expenditure of effort, the individual attracts great good fortune – whose fruits are felt as simple, reliable, constant, abundance.

The test of awareness for this degree has to do with finding the correct balance between complancy and struggle. For want of a measure of realistic caution against the entropic pull of scarcity, some could suffer delusions of self-sufficiency instead of appropriate self-serving activity.

Everything returns to Source to be purified; this is an eternal cosmic law, which maintains the integrity of all and everything in its non-stop waves of eternal change. A lifetime of vigorous action pulls the individual away from unification for a speck of cosmic time. It is folly to believe that such activity matters much, and yet foolhardiness to think it does not. To act anyway, knowing it is reckless and pointless is evidence of a very inspired wisdom.

Aries 16