Aquarius Sabian Symbols - Contribution and ManagementSoul evolution is described sequentially by the story of 360 Sabian Symbols.
The Aquarius chapter has these 6 expressions: Balance, Idealisation, Improvement, Assurance, Poise, Alchemy |
Aquarius Overview |
Aquarius 1 - 5
Balance
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Building survival structures within our group, both physical and institutional, provides a measure of stability (1), and yet submission to unforeseen and uncontrollable forces is always eventually a predictable requirement (2) as much as is the refusal to comply with inappropriate authority (3). These are necessary lessons when healing ourselves of distortions of light (4), leading towards a wise and balanced reconciliation of idealism and pragmatism (5).
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Aquarius 6 - 10
Idealisation
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Each of us, In our own unique fashion, is a channel for ancient archetypes (6), yet so too is it our lot to break with tradition (7) by creating new ideas with idealised intentions (8). As Gandhi said we must become the change we want to see in the world (9) and, as all great teachers demonstrate, we must reject the illusion of fame and fortune (10).
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Aquarius 11 - 15
Improvement
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There is a well-tested formula for the improvement of our lives: following inner guidance and inspiration (11), self-examination and self-improvement, (12) planning appropriately for the unknown future (13), cutting through obstacles (14), and practising happiness as a spiritual principle (15).
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Aquarius 16 - 20
Assurance
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First and foremost, because we need to eat and stay safe and warm, we need to learn self-organisation and stay on top of things (16), by protecting ourselves from others (17), by exposing hidden causes and false representations of purposes and explanations (18) and by learning how to deal with emergencies (19). These are the skills we need to gain victory over forces of entropy and destruction (20).
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Aquarius 21 - 25
Poise
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Being on top of things demonstrates poise, wherein we are able to face emotional upset and pain with grit and forbearance (21). We remember to practise kindness as a spiritual path (22), we can demonstrate self-control (23), and, by setting an example, we learn how best to live by teaching others (24) to rise above emotionality completely in order to attain spiritual wisdom (25).
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Aquarius 26 - 30
Alchemy
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The Earth plane shows us how, by measurement and study of how things work (26), we can gain an intuitive development of the hidden meaning inherent in things: the alchemy of perpetual transformation (27). Expanding perception in order to see more deeply (28) shifts our spiritual level up a notch (29) so that we are able to envision the universe as both a kaleidoscope of never-ending diversity and yet also a point of radiant light (30).
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Further Commentary on Aquarius
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CONTRIBUTION - ACTION
What is built of clay and even stone will one day be destroyed and rendered to dust. Nature’s power to create is matched equally by its power to destroy and civilisation’s attempts to tame Nature are, in the end, futile. Yet the inner strength and subtlety to go against the flow of wrong-mindedness, and to find a place to be in harmony with life, can be bound into perpetuity as the qualities of our race and the eternal, indestructible essence of the species-nature, our humanity. BALANCE
Aquarius 1 – 5 To make things and situations ideal, we have first to examine what has happened before, and compare this to what could happen, and also to our idealisation of excellence. There is a power of integrity written in things that were once new, many years ago, and have survived and evolved to a place whereby they give testimony to their enduring worth. Age has improved them in ways that only ageing can – by adding depth of character and proving their strength against the eroding forces of tide and time. It is not for us to throw out the old just because it is not modern. Yet it is for us to throw out whatever cannot find a place of relevance within the current zeitgeist since our loyalties are not best given to outworn causes, people or ways just for sentimental reasons. It is for us to hear the roll of thunder as a presage of change, to feel its capacity to transform and to be ready to move things to the next level, energised by our best ideas about what might be possible. |
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CONTRIBUTION - CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS
In order to contribute to humanity’s best hopes for evolutionary development we must first be able to reach higher states of awareness of the collective thrust of our species. Yet also we must trust that our own, personal creative inspiration is valid, and in fact we need to find a process of modelling our vision so that it becomes clear and compelling, and then we must act upon it. Constantly revisiting and reviewing our essence-nature will help us to guard against the loss of identity into collective ideals. IDEALISATION
Aquarius 6 - 10 Our faith in life is rooted in our faith in death – and the understanding that nothing is beyond the reach of cosmic order, that everything living dies away as soon as it has surrendered its vitality and purpose. Without this constant process of renewal, there is no rejuvenating agency; morbidity results. Faith helps us relate to death and, when we have come to terms with death, the freedom within life takes on a deeper dimension. Each moment dies, and each next moment is reborn with the fullest potential, as fresh and unsullied as dawn. Trust in this enables a very powerful creativity. We can serve our fellows best by helping them awaken to this universal need for perpetual renaissance. |
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CONTRIBUTION - INDIVIDUAL IMPLICATIONS
Our greatest contribution to the community, to God and to ourselves is the same thing – to live in peaceful joy. From this condition all things flow harmoniously, we feel love and beauty, we create sparkling works, we serve, we listen and we feel for others. The path to this state takes us through dark places within and yet can be successfully navigated by the strong-willed and clear-minded. We need to trust inner guidance and also find external guidance from more advanced individuals. It is the highest purpose of life to do so. IMPROVEMENT
Aquarius 11 - 15 Often a word’s ambiguity of meaning actually helps us towards a more subtle grasp of the nature of the reality it points us towards. Dreaming is typically a passive experience of an unconscious person; yet the word also is employed as a synonym for envisioning. So we ask – is there an attitude of mind that can hold both of these conditions simultaneously? On a passive level, we need to trust that dreams during sleep and, by extension, all intuition, are clues for us to usefully interpret as guidelines for action. Yet on an active level, we cut pathways in the mind by active dreaming – by focusing frequently and passionately with concentrated attention upon our envisioned future. Mastery of life experience comes from envisioning a progressive and satisfying self-development in service to the community, so we need to create our plans based on the affirmation of alignment between social needs and personal desire. These are the very tracks of a mental attitude that magnetises our dreams towards us, which in turn help lay down the templates of our experiences. |
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MANAGEMENT - ACTION
We have no choice but to find a way to manage our lives and on this Earth plane we are constantly in harm’s way and not wise to trust other people completely. These challenging life circumstances are entirely necessary for us to face our issues; none of us is perfect and we each have to face and deal with our imperfections if we are to evolve personally and collectively. In a crisis we are tested and expanded and without this no spiritual unfolding can occur. However, in the end, for those of us who deal with our issues fully the blessing of a peaceful spiritual life is promised. ASSURANCE
Aquarius 16 - 20 The stuff of life is resistant to change and is not easily adjusted when approached by wishy-washy enquiry. In order to accomplish a realized statement of what we have dreamt, we need to reach a condition of certainty. This does not mean that we know what is good for another person, or ‘true’ – it means impeccable confidence that the alignment, between what we believe in and what we are doing about it, will produce results. Any idea we have is first and foremost a descriptive aspect of individuality; it is not necessarily even relevant to another person, let alone universal – perhaps it does, perhaps it does not, address shared concerns. However, unless we ourselves feel assured of our conviction and become committed to it, then no-one else will. |
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MANAGEMENT - CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS
It is a truly prodigious task to overcome emotionality without strangling the feelings, especially when disillusionment and grief hit us hard. But we can count on the support of kind people around us, and also we ourselves will find kindness bubbling up towards others in their time of struggle. We need to find the highest level of self-discipline if we are to free ourselves from imposed discipline, and then we find that there is a condition of mind, a state of consciousness, that can be found and briefly inhabited but not sustained indefinitely. It takes us out of duality and so above all emotions, yet with heightened sensitivity to feelings and clarity of perception. If we frequently practise being in this state then at some point the third eye opens, in other words the pineal gland is awakened after a long period of dormancy. Then we can see it all. POISE
Aquarius 21 - 25 The events of our lives are scenes and scenarios of a mystery play, the revelation of whose meaning requires the subtlety of a high mind. Nose against the window-pane of society, yet anchored as we are in a different reality, it may please us to observe the frenetic clashing and banging of the world, with no need, and certainly no intention, of taking on common, yet uninspiring, viewpoints, which we may find lack profundity of insight. Yet sympathetic understanding is an aspect of our humanity; it is a degree of knowledge more profound than the conceptual, and so much more than science or logic. It comes from the gentle, compassionate realisation that we all are flawed, all damaged. Without this measure of awareness, then our quirkiness is merely for show, a cleverness to impress and steal attention. But when we have escaped conventionality to face our own demons, and we have come back strong and true, then we are unencumbered in applying our perceptions uniquely, yet realistically and kind-heartedly. Character becomes enriched by multiple experiences of set-back and bounce-back; without this we remain bland and sheep-like. Only through friction can the potential within us be exposed – as indeed rock formations of staggering beauty are exposed by sandstorms. Our uniqueness is that which distinguishes us from the pack and enables the possibility of thinking outside the box. It arises only by facing up to the shadowy parts within. |
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MANAGEMENT - INDIVIDUAL IMPLICATIONS
Clarity of intelligence, and softness of heart, need to be brought into balance and employed together to manage life with expediency and grace. Then we are ready to take initiation and surrender to, and yet simultaneously claim, group consciousness. ALCHEMY
Aquarius 26 - 30 Created in God’s image, we are creators ourselves, given the power of free will to manipulate the field of universal possibility to our heart’s desire. Realising this, our joyful task becomes clear – we need to rework what has been and what is, into what will be, according to our most joyful, playful, reach of mystical ingenuity and originality. Hindus teach that there is no settled external reality, that all we perceive is made up out of the imaginings of the mind – our own mind – singular, not collective. So not only can we invent life the way we want it, actually we cannot do anything else. Even if we do not accept the eastern philosophy, we must surely realise that our perceptions can only be based on our own unique experiences – so our inner reality is for us to fabricate – so then let us invent what makes us joyful, secure and loving. |
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Sabian Life JourneyOur life experiences may be expressed as a journey from Aries 1 to Pisces 30. It is easier to arrive at the understanding of those experiences by a process of reflection, looking backwards rather than forward though the zodiac cycle. We can use the previous degree to answer the question - how? - rather than the following one to answer - why?
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AQUARIUS 30 "Envision the universe as a point of radiant light"
How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 29 "Shift your spiritual level up a notch" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 28 "Expanding perception in order to see more deeply" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 27 "Intuitive development of the hidden meaning inherent in things" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 26 "Measurement and study of how things work" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 25 "Rising above emotion to attain spiritual wisdom" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 24 "Learning by teaching others" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 23 "Demonstration of self-control" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 22 "Practising kindness as a spiritual path" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 21 "Facing emotional upset and pain with grit and forbearance" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 20 "Victory over forces of entropy and destruction" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 19 "Dealing with emergencies" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 18 "Exposure of hidden causes and purposes" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 17 "Protecting ourselves from others" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 16 "Self-organisation and staying on top of things" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 15 "The practise of happiness" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 14 "Cutting through obstacles" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 13 "Planning for the future" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 12 "Self-examination and improvement" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 11 "Following inner guidance and inspiration" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 10 "Rejecting the illusion of fame and fortune" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 9 "Becoming the change you want to see in the world" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 8 "Creating idealised intentions" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 7 "Breaking with tradition" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 6 "Channelling ancient archetypes in your own unique fashion" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 5 "Wise reconciliation of idealism and pragmatism" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 4 "Healing yourself of imbalances" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 3 "Refusing to comply with inappropriate authority" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 2 "Submission to unforeseen and uncontrollable forces" How can I do that? we ask - and the response comes from AQUARIUS 1 "Building structures of survival with your group" |
