1st Capricorn festival 2020

THE 1st CAPRICORN FESTIVAL 2020
10 Jan 2020
© Malvin Artley

“International relations are going through a complicated stage of development – as one historical epoch replaces the other, with a new polycentric world order now taking shape. It is a process accompanied by increasing instability – both at global and regional levels…”
Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister (2015)

Topics (linked to paragraphs): A little journey Good puja! Soleimani Appearances are deceiving Capricorn Materialistic Capricorn The full moon The eclipse Capricorn and nations Nations or countries? Jews and Capricorn Zionism, Israel and Soleimani Finland, in brief Greece and its opportunity Closing thoughts

Greetings Everyone! And Happy New Year!

A little journey: This will be a shorter letter, in lieu of the Chinese New Year letter out in a couple of weeks. We will cover the world situation in detail in that letter. But here there are a couple of special points to consider, along with Capricorn, starting with the Festival Week of the New Group of World Servers. I was in Greece for the start of the Festival Week. So, before we go on, I send many thanks for the people there who so graciously made my stay so enjoyable and for my friends whom I had a chance to meet face-to-face, finally. It was my first time in Greece, and in Athens, and I look forward to going back, hopefully before too long. The trip was an eye-opener on many levels, and a good start ot the Festival Week. Though I was only there a few days I saw many confirmations of topics about which I have written in the past in these letters and also got some insights into what is evolving in that part of the world. There is promise there, but it is coming at a cost to the populace. However, such costs also have a tendency to open unperceived gifts later. And since Greece has a Capricorn personality, it is topical to this letter.

Before I left on my trip, everyone was telling me, “Oh, you must go see the Acropolis! You do plan to go, don’t you?” Yes, of course! And I did want to see it. Greece is one of the places where our Western civilization had its gestation, those long centuries ago. So, the day after I arrived, I went off in search of the Acropolis with two companions – volunteer minders – one an elegant Greek lady who had agreed to show me around while I was there, and who spoke no English (wait for it…) and the other a younger Senegalese man with whom she works who spoke Greek, but just enough English to get us by. Between us, we muddled through with the communications. But we did get to the Acropolis. The first stop was the Acropolis Museum. Now, that is a must see. And as it turns out much of the artwork that was on the actual site is now housed in the museum. The stone work was amazing, as was the art, and it puts one in wonder at what the ancients were able to achieve with only limited means and technology. I won’t go into details about the rest of the day, as there is too much to tell and this is not a travelogue, except to say that if you have never been to Athens, you must go see the Acropolis Museum. Later, after too much food and taking in other parts of Athens, we each retired to our hotel rooms and awaited even more food at dinner, with the Acropolis at night as the scene from the restaurant. This sets another scene, but there is more of importance to the trip, as follows.

Athens is quite an interesting place, to put it mildly. Since the Greek bailout (this will have significance after the full moon is discussed) and since the European migration crisis, it is in need of a facelift, shall we say. A third of the Greek economy is now conducted ‘in the black’ (cash only, no taxes), I am told. There is little money to spend on infrastructure, which is quite evident. The city is full of refugees from the Middle East, many of them Syrian, which will also be of interest later in this piece. Those refugees are in a holding pattern – stuck, and waiting to go to other parts of Europe or back home, depending on which turns out to be the better destination. They are actually high-level refugees, though, well-educated, informed and able to sustain themselves at least while they wait out their current situation. It may seem to be a hopeless problem to many readers, but the sense I got while I was there is that there is something gestating in Greece, and the Syrian refugees are there for a purpose, a longer-term more evolutionary purpose. Their impact on Greece will only become apparent as the years unfold, as well as the impact of Greece upon the refugees. Because of the economic situation in Greece, it is not their desired destination, but one can imagine that the Greeks, having taken them in when few other Eastern European nations would, will be well remembered in Syria. We’ll have more on that a little later

The next day was the conference on the solstice day for the start of the Festival Week. There was not a large crowd, and the lack of a certain segment of regular attendees to such events was evident and disappointing to the organizers – the more esoterically inclined regular attendees, which was both revealing and interesting. The conference went for five hours. I was the first speaker, with a translator, and spoke on the need for goodwill between nations in our changing world order and what was needed in the immediate years ahead. I knew other people would be speaking on the more esoteric side of the week, so I chose to speak on the changing world order. There will eventually be a link to the talk, which will be more professional than my little recording device, and you can see the rest of the presenters as well. After my talk there were a few pointed questions by attendees about the developing situation with Turkey, which may also become a problem in the near future, but we will have to leave that for now. And then, the principle organizer approached me after my talk and I was summarily dismissed, being told that I could stay if I wanted to, but that the rest of the talks would all be Greek to me. There. I told you to wait for it (No offence to Greek readers. It’s an English slang expression). He actually stated it to me that way, in a joking manner, but to say I was summarily dismissed was actually kindness on his part. He didn’t want me to be bored. I stayed around for a while anyway, speaking with a few friends. It was quite a good gathering. We were small, but motivated. This brings us to the outcomes to be expected from the Festival Week.

Good puja!: In Buddhist monasteries pujas are performed very often, especially according to the phases of the moon. The most important days are the day before the new moon, the 10^th day, the day of the full moon and the 25^th day of the lunar month. They each have their special significance. We will be covering such topics in future letters. The important point here, as an example, was related through a recollection by a monk with whom I was once having a conversation. There had just been a puja performed one afternoon at his monastery, immediately after which there was a brief severe thunderstorm and a loud thunder clap, at which point one of the lamas in attendance was heard to say, “Good puja!” The meaning here is that concentrated meditation in groups and invocation does produce results, as in precipitating events. Storms clear the air. If such is the case, then world events following upon the meditations that took place internationally during the festival week have had a good effect. They have precipitated certain events that will be very clarifying and eventually produce a much saner set of relations, especially in the Middle East and between America and its erstwhile allies.

Soleimani: Before we get to Capricorn, there has just been a particular event, about which I have had to take time to address, that will soon lead to the US losing any major influence in the Middle East, and thereby placing Israel and the Saudis in more precarious positions. It will spell the end of Zionism as a troubling concern over time, which is one of the major destabilizing ideologies in the world today. The event I refer was to the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani (chart) of the Quds Forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. It was an act of war. I have been following this very closely and it needs to be very clearly in our thoughts. The hawks in Washington have no idea what they have done. For astrologers, this act was the modern equivalent of Eris and the golden apple, which led to the destruction of Troy. Troy, in this case, is the Pax Americana that has existed since the end of WWII. If you want a good dose of truth about what just happened, there is a video that explains it, especially from 5:21 onward.

Think what you want about him, but Soleimani was the man who trained militias in Iraq and Syria and led the fight against Daesh there, defended Christians and other religious faiths in those lands and led the fight against the US occupation in Iraq in the early days of that war. It was the latter that earned him the scorn of the US. The propaganda and comments out of the US regarding his assassination has been nauseating, and displays a clear ignorance, sense of exceptionalism and hypocrisy about Iran, about the man and what he stood for. But, on the other hand, martyrs can be much more powerful enemies than a living person. And that is what Trump’s move has created. The point here is that it has been American warmongering in the region that has caused much of the suffering there. This episode will eventually bring to a close the 67 years of US interference in Iranian affairs to any great degree and the end of Zionist expansionist aims. I mention this here, too, because if you have American friends7family in the military in the region, they would be best advised to be leaving as soon as possible. I will be covering the fallout from this story in the Chinese New Year letter, along with the main changes in world affairs to look for in the coming year of the White Rat. But we digress.

Appearances are deceiving: From events that are precipitating now, we see that meditations for peace and goodwill between nations during the Festival Week have borne fruit and will continue to do so. 2020 will be one of the most restive years in recent memory, but very clarifying and setting a new course at the same time. Escalations of tensions as a move toward peace may sound contradictory. However, when there are recalcitrant parties at each other’s throats, when divisions between people appear unsolvable, sometimes a major shakeup is needed to bring about eventual resolution. Harmony can and does come out of conflict when mediation and negotiations fail. What we will see this year is a decisive struggle with Zionism in the Middle East. Civilians of the West will be relatively safe there, as the Muslims in the region have been warned not to harm them, as it would play into hawkish hands. The Iranians also rather like the average American, but they abhor the leadership and the military, having just branded the entire military establishment in the US as a terrorist organization. Branding people as terrorists works both ways.

Blowback from Soleimani’s death has already started. I still do not expect a full-blown war, for reasons I have outlined in other letters and articles, but there will be decisive conflicts and events that will send a clear message to the West, the Saudis and Israel. Their days of mischief and unlawful behaviour are numbered, and the ‘red line’ has just been crossed. In Iran, the red flag has been raised, for one of the few times in the history of the republic. Apparently this event has been necessary in the larger scheme of things, as was the result in the election in the UK, which also stunned many readers. That, too, will lead to decisive struggles into the future. It has marked a beginning of a new phase, not a final chapter. So, with these points in mind, we go to Capricorn and how it, too, fits in with the Festival Week and what is evolving.

Capricorn is the sign of culminations, after which no further progress is possible. It is symbolized for us in the goat on the mountain top. Once one has reached the summit of the mountain, the only way forward is down, unless of course, one has a helicopter on the way to take one off the mountain. Jokes aside, the cycle of Saturn through the houses are descriptive in that regard. Capricorn rules the natural 10^th house of the zodiac. Saturn rules Capricorn, both in the orthodox and esoterically, with Venus as the sign’s ultimate ruler.^[1] When Saturn reaches the cusp of the 10^th house by transit it is a signal that the pinnacle of one’s efforts for that cycle (of ca. 29 years) has been achieved. After that, further progress becomes blocked. It marks a period of consolidation of efforts, making them usable for the next cycle of Saturn – a springboard or platform from which one launches their next cycle of effort. It is the same for any planet that transits over the Midheaven of one’s chart, marking the pinnacle of effort for the energies and qualities represented by that planet. Saturn across the 10^th is particularly noteworthy because Saturn represents both karma and experience – experience as the result of one’s ambitions.

Capricorn also represents a particular type of expansion in human consciousness, otherwise known as the 3^rd initiation. These expansions of consciousness are known in Buddhism as ‘attainments’ or ‘realizations’ and the idea is right in line with what we are discussing here. The 3^rd initiation marks a particular type of revelation, what is Buddhism is called a direct realization of emptiness. But it is more than that. It marks the culmination of the path of the personality, gained over ages of lifetimes of experience, and at that point, the first monadic contact is fully made. The personality from then on is transfigured, made a fit vehicle for the dharma, as a direct transmitter of the same. From that point on the personality fades into the background and becomes more and more simply a vehicle of transmission, or a teaching vessel, if you will. There is a direct vision of one’s place in the larger collective scheme, subjectively considered, a true intuition, and the blinding realization that the way forward lies not with further climbing, but in returning to bring others along to the same realizations, thus marking the true beginning of group work. It is a transcendent, extremely blissful experience, yet it changes forever the personality life along certain lines, rendering it predominantly a vehicle for the group, in whichever group one finds oneself.

And perhaps here is the most pertinent point of the experience: One realizes that to go on alone once the goal is reached is not only useless, but against one’s nature. The goat must return to the flock, not from a sense of superiority, but from a sense of all-consuming compassion for those at the base of the mountain and in the valleys below. The service ‘instinct’, if we can call it that, is impressed indelibly in one’s consciousness at the third initiation. No further progress is possible without the others, without the group. Once the blinding light of supernal realization is had, one must descend the mountain, hence the esoteric motto of Capricorn: “Lost am I in light supernal, and on that light I turn my back.”^[2] Venus then becomes the guiding factor in Capricorn, integrating the personality with the higher Self and ultimately, the Buddha nature (monad), guided by compassionate wisdom.

Materialistic Capricorn: However, there is another side to Capricorn, its materialistic side, governed by its lower motto: “And the Word said: Let ambition rule and the door stand wide.”^[3] It is this dynamic which is the guiding thought behind the Capricorn nations and groups in the world today in their personal expressions, and we will cover these next and how they are manifesting, after a brief discussion of the full moon.

The full moon takes place on the 10th of January at 18:03 UT (11 Jan at 5:03 AM AEDT). This full moon is also an eclipse, the one that has received so much attention in recent months, because it is accompanied by the Saturn/Pluto conjunction, the latter becoming exact two days later. They are thus co-lords of the eclipse. This signals the changing historical epoch, quoted at the start of this letter. The last such conjunction between Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn was in 1518, signalling the rise of the West as the great collective power in the world. That is now shifting, with the West waning in power and with other nations – Russia, China and Iran, most notably, stepping in the fill the void. And recent events have been some of the catalysts for the change in the epoch. There is an article on the blog page that describes what this particular conjunction signifies, as well as that eclipse. It will take a few years for the change to become cemented in the public consciousness, but the change is taking place before our eyes, for people who are paying attention.

The eclipse: Of particular interest with this eclipse is that the culmination lines of the Sun, Ceres, Saturn, Pluto and Mercury – a most powerful combination – all run through the eastern United States and Canada, as well as far-western South America. The lunar culmination line runs through the Russian Federation, China and Southeast Asia. We often see earthquakes along these lines when eclipses are activated, both literal and figurative. And, this eclipse also symbolically indicates the earthquakes in geopolitics that are taking place between the East and the West, and between Washington and Beijing in particular. Associated nations along those lines are also playing their roles in the changing times. And perhaps signalling in anticipation of what is coming, there was the terrible crash of the Ukrainian airline that happened on the 8^th in Tehran. There were 63 Canadians on-board that plane, as well as Iranians, Ukrainians and a few other nationalities.

There was no initial evidence of foul play, and that type of plane has been quite a bit in the news lately. The engine type on that particular plane has been known to have catastrophic failures in the past. Mechanical failure was the first suspect in the crash. Then, we quickly heard the US saying that the Iranians accidentally shot it down. There was precedent for sceptical readers to be suspicious of such claims. Rumors and theories were all over the internet. Well, turns out it was true, and the Iranians apologized, de-escalating the situation. We heard no such apologies on the MH17 incident or the Iran Air 655 incident. There are still unanswered questions and suspicions. I will be writing an article on the incident in the next few days. It was a tragic, avoidable error, and the Iranians have promised a swift response and investigation into the causes of the incident.

Capricorn and nations: As to the Capricorn nations, the nations, cities and groups ruled by Capricorn^[4] are as follows:

Personality: Australia, Austria, Greece, India, Japan, Spain, Brussels, Paris, the Jews^[5]

Soul: Finland, Warsaw

A Capricorn personality in nations or groups represents age, crystallization and materialism. With regard to what we have examined in this latest cycle of letters, there is a long quote regarding what we have examined. But, it bears a careful reading and will reveal certain factors to keep in mind as we go along:

“An analysis of the signs ruling the different countries will make certain outstanding conditions apparent and even with the small knowledge of esoteric astrology now available will make certain definite information emerge in your minds as vitally explanatory. Capricorn, for instance, seldom appears as a sign governing the egoic [soul] expression of any nation but quite often as governing the personality manifestation, or the exoteric country. Austria, Greece, India, Japan and Spain have Capricorn as their personality rulers, indicating age, crystallisation and materialism; a little study of conditions and the present point in evolution will make this apparent. In the next great and succeeding race to this, Capricorn will appear as ruling the egoic expression, for the soul will then be in greater control and certain great groups of human beings (those who now compose the present nations) will be ready for initiation upon the mountain top of Capricorn.

I cannot spend much time analysing this but would like to indicate one or two points which would serve to guide your thoughts and to clarify the issue. In this manner I can point the way for the future guidance of astrologers who have an esoteric bias. The subject is, however, sufficiently abstruse to deter most people. The relations to be established cannot be based upon some definite starting point, as is sometimes possible in casting the individual horoscope, but upon energy effects, coming direct from the signs themselves, or via certain planetary rulers (again either exoteric, esoteric or hierarchical); these effects are again conditioned by the interplay between the energy of the rays which govern the soul or the personality of the nation or country under consideration. The problem is likewise complicated because there will be the need to distinguish between the horoscope of the territory, housing the nation, and the people themselves who compose that unit which we call a nation. Some nations are fluid and not properly integrated as are the masses of people everywhere; others are integrated entities, or fully expressing personalities; others are crystallised and have nearly run their course as personalities; others again are coming under the influence of their soul ray, leading to another cycle of fluidity, before the definiteness of the initiate-entity becomes apparent; a few again are purely embryonic. Thus the extreme difficulty of the science becomes increasingly apparent. There is, however, no need for discouragement, for this is a science, subject to moments of intense illumination when the intuition will suddenly reveal determining laws and when the capacity to think abstractly and synthetically will pour floods of light upon the most difficult and complex of problems.” Bailey, The Destiny of the Nations, pp. 70, 71

Nations or countries?: In the bolded emphasis, above, the horoscope of the territory relates to the national horoscope, normally set for the nation’s independence or formation. What is referred to with the nations listed as being influenced by Capricorn are the general trends of the people of a nation. Sometimes the two coincide in particulars, but on the whole there is wide divergence between the two. Thus, with Australia for instance, we have the materialism that has contributed greatly to the fires that are still blazing there (see report), along with its legacy of British government, which often does not represent the will of the people. The destruction there, particularly of the land and animal life, has been horrific.

Jews and Capricorn: As another example, with the Jewish people, there is a particular manifestation of Jewish culture that has caused particular problems for the world at large. We refer here to Zionism, not to Judaism as a whole. There are many more non-Jewish Zionists than Jewish Zionists. There is a concerted attempt now by interested parties and for people who have not studied the matter, to conflate Zionism with Judaism. The former is a small segment of the latter. It serves a particular political purpose, and is quite reactionary, regressive and separative. The US and UK have been particularly trapped by this delusion, aided and promoted by fundamentalist Christian evangelicals.

Claims of anti-Semitism played a significant role in the recent UK election, although that was not the primary factor pushing people away from Corbyn. And in the US, unless a candidate expresses firm support for Israel, they stand little chance of being elected to high office. Of a curious note referring back to the opening quote of this letter, what we have in Zionism today had its start in 1569. This was 51 years after the last Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, and thus in the present historical epoch of Western dominance. The movement began to pick up steam in the early 19^th century in the British Empire. We won’t go over the details here, but it has been used as a tool in geopolitics now especially since the early 20^th century, becoming entrenched in American and British politics since the end of WWII. It became ‘gospel’, in a manner of speaking, in the US with the rise of the neocons in US politics and policy. And Israel has been a lynchpin in Western control of the resources in the Middle East, in what Iranians now like to call ‘Western Asia’.

Zionism, Israel and Soleimani: Zionism is central to what just happened with the murder of Soleimani. The Israelis had tried to kill him before. They thought it was in their interests to do so and they preferred Daesh on their border rather than a strong Iraqi or Syrian state. That in itself is rather telling, as it speaks to the general Israeli policy towards the region – to keep it destabilized and weak. Now to be clear, Iran has no problems with Jews. There is a significant Jewish minority in Iran and their religion is well tolerated. The Iranians do, however, have a big problem with the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv and with their repression of the Palestinians. And as another note to American readers, the Iranians have no desire to build nuclear weapons. They don’t need them, to start, and such weapons have been proclaimed to be against their beliefs. But they do use the enrichment of uranium for peaceful purposes and as a political lever, the latter of which is probably not the smartest policy. Zionism as a policy is on its way out, especially since Soleimani’s murder, and this will see a marked change for the better in world affairs. With regard to American politics, it is useful to keep in mind that Trump’s biggest donors are all hard-line Zionists, and billionaires at that. Hence, his behaviour toward Iran and Israel.

As to the other Capricorn personalities in the nations, there has been a recent shift further to the ‘right’ in politics in those nations. ‘Right’ in this case means ‘reactionary’. Brussels, as the seat of the EU, is populated with reactionary factions, controlling the finances of the EU, and thus we see the austerity measures that are destroying unity in the EU, the disconnect between Paris and the citizens of France and the rising dissatisfaction with the various governments in the bloc. The general strikes in France are a response to those measures, for instance. We see also the Catalan independence movement in Spain, rising revolts against Modi’s nationalist and racist policies in India and Abe’s rise in Japan, with moves toward a more militaristic approach in that region.

Finland, in brief: The one nation that is a breath of fresh air in this Capricorn influence is Finland, who has just seen its youngest-ever PM elected, 34 y/o Sanna Marin. Finland is educating its children to actually think about the news they hear, to distinguish fake from propaganda. Its public welfare programs are at the top of world standards. It is quite a progressive nation and people there are, I hear, very frank and honest. It is a good example of a higher expression of Capricorn, reaching for achievement for its individual citizens, with the thinking that government should be a friend and a help to its people. This is not to say it is some sort of utopia. It has its problems, too. It has had its problems with Russia, too, but has sought to keep a middle ground between Russia and the West. I hope at some point to address Finland further, as it is a fascinating nation, holding a lot of promise for the future. But we will end this letter with Greece, not because I was just there, but because of what is happening in the Middle East and with Turkey, along with its troubled recent history.

Greece and its opportunity: During the Greek financial crisis, which started in the early years of this century (having its roots in decades past), the crunch years came with the 2007 financial crash and the subsequent loss in a snap election of its PM Kostas Karamanlis. There is an interesting story, which would make for a good Italian giallo (crime/espionage story). It was also a scandal, which has had recent echoes in Iraq – a further example of American ‘mischief’, a.k.a. gangsterism. What emerged later about his loss was labelled the ‘Pythia-1 affair’. Seems that Mr. Karamanlis had made approaches to Russia during the crisis, with the possibility of a gas pipeline from Russia to Greece, which would go on to southern Europe, the possibility of buying Russian weapons, and so forth. He was friends with Vladimir Putin, the West’s favorite bad boy. One might imagine how Washington would have reacted to such ‘malign behaviour on the part of Russia’.

There were powerful reactionary forces within Greece who wanted the plans for the pipeline disrupted, as well as any other approaches to Russia, which we might find a bit strange, given that Greece has traditionally had good relations with Russia. But then, with its Capricorn personality, and a history of corruption, the people who opposed the approaches to Russia had close ties with the Western powers, particularly the United States. Karamanlis was threatened, and the plan was to disrupt the country, ultimately to assassinate Karamanlis. The plan was foiled, due to a tip from the FSB. Karamanlis is still alive, but he lost the 2009 election to Papandreou, and thereafter retired. Apparently it is very dangerous to even talk to the Russians, much less sign deals with them. And all Karamanlis did was just talk. Papandreou is blamed for bringing the IMF into Greece – good ‘ol Chicago School financial capitalism, materialism Capricorn style – and then the Greeks were thrown under the bus when Tsipras took the terms of the bailout. That was another case of the materialists winning out. There were alternatives, as in debt forgiveness, floating parallel currencies and so-forth, but as has been the case in recent years, the oligarchs have control of the money supply. However, there is another point, pointing toward the future.

The nations and cities with Virgo souls seeking to express – Ireland, Australia, Greece and Paris, for example – are places where new qualities are being nurtured and are under gestation. Australia is a very young nation and people, really, and a mixture of many qualities, and at some point it will throw off its materialistic and British legacy, coming more into its own. Greece, likewise, will eventually throw off the old Capricornian yoke, and when it does we will see something quite new emerging there. Australia is also where a large number of expat Greeks have found a home, and I knew a number of them when I lived there. Paris, too, is going through its convulsions now, seeking to throw off the EU/neoliberal order in favour of a greater financial freedom for the French, and it is said to be one of the places, all being well, where the fact of the soul shall be proven. Ireland, like Australia, will eventually throw off the British system, and as a result of Brexit, will in all likelihood reunite. All of those places will bear close watching in the immediate years ahead, especially as the crises they are facing draw out the souls of their people. But there is something more to Greece.

To our Greek friends, you probably do not need to worry about a new influx of Syrian refugees. Since Turkey has designs on Libya, they are shipping off the jihadists in Idlib to Libya. The Russians in Syria are seeking to avoid another humanitarian catastrophe. The Americans will be leaving Syria before too long, which will lower tensions there. Without bases in Iraq, the occupation of eastern Syria will be unsupportable, plus the fact that they will now be endlessly harassed by the Syrians and Iraqis because of the Soleimani murder. It is a favorite saying of Christians that God works in mysterious ways. So does the Manu, the who governs the evolution of the races, but the Manu more often than not works through forced migration. There is an ancient brotherhood between the Syrians and the Greeks. It is not by mistake that the refugees are stuck in Greece, and there is a wider occult reason. We also know that one of the future esoteric schools is forecast to be in either Greece or Syria.^[6] In a way, both nations have been destroyed, both are facing large crises, both will take time to recover. The trials in those lands will be fertile ground for new forms of spiritual expression to emerge, for new avenues toward freedom. There is a Greek diaspora (the Rûm) who suffered at the hands of the jihadists in the Syrian war, too, which is undergoing a revival.

The Capricornian financial system we have in the West now will not last in its present form for much longer. It shudders and shakes as it is. When that goes, Greece has a renewed opportunity. Syria’s opportunity lies in the East. And then, we consider where Greece is placed geographically and its current leanings. Russia is not going anywhere. The Russian gas pipelines will eventually reach into Greece. Once the US is preoccupied with its own internal affairs it will not be so interested in the Greeks talking to Russia again, and that American preoccupation with itself is just around the corner. If/when NATO starts to fall apart Greeks will not be obliged to toe the Western military line. And in terms of threats, the only real military threat is from Turkey. There again, the Russians can help. And if the Greeks are worried about Libyan refugees, I can tell you that the Italians are more worried than you. Italy is only 70 miles from Tunisia, right at Libya’s back door.

Greece also has an opportunity with China, being one of the main entry ports into Europe with its Belt and Road initiative. The Chinese have invested heavily in the port at Piraeus, which is to be the final stop on its maritime Silk Road. The Chinese are seen favourably by the Greeks, too, from what I am hearing. That deal with the Chinese has earned the ire of Washington, also. One wonders if the establishment in Greece was threatened over that one. Kudos to the Greeks.

Greece is a meeting place between Europe and West Asia. It always has been. Its natural trading partners are in the region and to the north, and now China is making big inroads. It is only a matter of time, and probably a short amount of time, before the old post-WWII alliance system in the West fractures with each nation going their own way and finding their natural niches. There are ancient religious and cultural ties which cannot be ignored, much as the Western Europeans and the US have tried to force a greater intermingling of cultures, as with the Lisbon treaty, for example. As always, crises bring opportunities. The new spiritual centers will be founded on ancient magnetized spots and there are many in the region. Both Greece and Syria have those spots. A little investigation should reveal where they are. People with more awakened spiritual sensitivities gravitate to such places. The old Capricorn materialist and political structures are being challenged now as has not been seen since the last World War. Saturn, especially through Capricorn, is always representative of opportunities. Our day of opportunity has arrived. All of the places governed by Capricorn must see the breakdown of their old systems in that light and seize their opportunity.

Closing thoughts: Soleimani was a Piscean. Pisceans are known for their ability to sacrifice themselves for a cause and for their care of loved ones. His was the ultimate sacrifice, and it has been a major catalyst for what is about to transpire. US citizens especially are being fed a big dose of negative propaganda about the man and what he represented. His death will change the region and end Western dominance there. That in turn will open new doors for progress throughout Western Asia and southern Europe. His death was symbolic in a way, too, as one of the many deaths of the Piscean Age and the dawn of the emerging Aquarian Age. We can see what is emerging as either a clash of cultures or an intermingling of cultures. I prefer the latter view. Unless we take a long view and seek a wider perspective we remain stuck in old talking points and public sentiments. Our world is changing quickly. We can either move with it or fight against it. But to fight against it is to be relegated to the passing age. The time for decisions has come. There is no turning back. Our meditations over the Festival Week are bearing fruit, but we must all follow through on what has been planted. War is to be avoided, and will be, in all probability. Let us all maintain the long view in a world that struggles through the pangs of its coming birth. Moments pass. The future looms large. Peace begins within.

New Year’s blessings,
Malvin
10 Jan 2020
malvin@malvinartley.com

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Picture credits:
Athens at full moon: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/greece/athens/articles/things-to-do-in-athens/
Soleimani: https://atalayar.com/en/content/new-statue-qassem-soleimani-set-fire-iran
Transfiguration of Jesus: Luca Giordano (1685)
Ukraine Airlines Flight 752: https://www.jetphotos.com/airline/Ukraine+International+Airlines
Australian fires: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/one-year-australia-s-devastating-wildfires-anger-grows-climate-change-n1256714
Stand with Israel: https://www.axios.com/2021/05/26/white-house-meeting-jewish-groups-antisemitism
Crumbling Parthenon: https://portside.org/2015-07-17/how-goldman-sachs-profited-greek-debt-crisis
Maritime Silk Road: https://www.ejiltalk.org/chinas-one-belt-one-road-initiative-can-a-bilaterally-negotiated-globalization-2-0-internalize-human-rights-labor-and-environmental-standards/

1. Bailey, Alice A., Esoteric Astrology, Lucis Publishing, NY, NY, p. 69 ↑
2. Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic, p. 442 ↑
3. Ibid, p. 443 ↑
4. https://malvinartley.com/destiny_of_nations.htm Compilation from AAB. ↑
5. Bailey, Esoteric Psychology I, p. 395 ↑
6. Bailey, Letters on Occult Meditation, p. 309 ↑