The Cancer Festival 2021

The Cancer Festival 2021
24 JUNE 2021
© Malvin Artley

Greetings Everyone!

Like many towns and cities in Italy, Rovereto has its own statue of Neptune in the Piazza delle Oche (Square of the Geese). They used to sell poultry in that square in the old days. We also have a Piazza delle Herbe and a Piazzo del Grano, among others. There are some rather grand statues of Neptune in Italy, notably in Rome, Bologna and Florence. At some point we will have to make it to Rome to see Neptune at the Fontana di Trevi. And there is also one that was bombed in WWII, known as Il Gigante (The Giant) in Cinque Terre. The latter was said to hold back the waves. It lost its arms in the bombing and is now a ruin. But we went to see it not too long ago with a couple of Aussie friends. Our own Neptune here in Rovereto has not escaped its share of woes, either, having had its trident stolen at one time, later to be recovered from a ditch. And recently, at the height of lockdowns here in Italy, it suffered another indignity. Some disgruntled sort decided Neptune looked better with women’s underwear in black and with bright red lipstick – painted indelibly, mind you – and with the base of the fountain on which it stands emblazoned by the word, “Sveglia” (Wake up!). Now our Neptune is covered in a shroud pending restoration and the removal of the indignity. In another removal of indignity, from Monday, we are allowed outside without the ubiquitous mascherini (masks). Provided nothing else untoward occurs, we are approaching the end of the epidemic here in Italy.

Neptune: The pandemic aside, Neptune is the god of the seas, of the deep oceans, the brother of Jupiter and Pluto in mythology. All three are present in the rulerships of the sign Pisces, though Neptune is said to “focus the influence of Pisces”, as it concerns collective humanity.[1] In the individual chart, it is Jupiter and Pluto that rule. Neptune was the god of springs, lakes and rivers before he became god of the sea. He was also the patron god of horseracing in Rome. Hence, we often see horses depicted in paintings and statues of Neptune. We’ll come back to Neptune presently.

This time of year in northern Italy the cloud formations can be quite striking. In the hotter days the thermals come up off the mountains, carrying moisture and creating cloud formations in the event, often resulting in evening showers. There are also hot winds that blow in from the Adriatic and the Mediterranean that carry copious moisture and that condenses into clouds when the winds hit the higher peaks. Sometimes it is interesting to watch the cloud formations, to see the emerging and shifting shapes, the images that come to mind as a result. There is a symbolic and occult relation between the air and moisture, too, in that moisture is connected esoterically with the astral plane[2], while air is connected with buddhi, or the buddhic/intuitional plane.[3] There is also a harmonic relation between those two planes as well. The astral body of the individual should eventually become a quiet reflector of one’s buddhic principle, or intuition.[4] This brings in Neptune again.

 Neptune rules the astral plane and presides over the ‘devas of the waters’.[5] It is also associated with buddhi, being called ‘the God of reasoning’.[6] It is said that no one begins to coordinate the buddhic vehicle until one comes under the influence of Neptune. If so, it will be shown clearly in the personality chart.[7] The statement means little until we begin to add together the influences on the individual. The seat of the astral plane in the individual is the solar plexus chakra/center. The seat of the buddhic principle is in the heart chakra. The two are closely related. It is only when the lower, more instinctual and animalistic impulses begin to die out in a person that it is possible to coordinate the buddhic principle into one’s life. In Alice Bailey’s material, this ‘buddhic principle’ is also called ‘Christ consciousness’.[8] In Buddhism, this is the bodhisattva consciousness. To use a physical analogy, it is only when the clouds begin to clear that we can see the clear light of day. In terms of Buddhism, it is only when the aggregate of the emotions are still and calm that the mind of clear light can be accessed. All this has practical application to what we have experienced over the past year and a half, bringing in the sign Cancer as well.

Cancer and water: The sign Cancer is connected with the mass consciousness, or the masses of humanity in general. It is the sign most associated with family, which also extends to one’s astral and spiritual families, or groups. It is the gateway into the form life, of ‘immersion into water’, or the vast sea of emotional life. Gestation takes place within a body of water and the fetus is nourished thereby. It is said that the astral body governs the quality of the personality, which is shown in the astral chart, showing also its sensitivity or state of awareness.[9] Thus, we see the astral body and attention to the astral nature is of great importance on the Path. If it is constantly bombarded by strong emotional currents and adversely affected therefrom, it tends to blot out, dull or causes one to misconstrue the voice of one’s higher Self, or soul. We become focused on phantoms, on vague and shifting shapes instead of our own inner reality, being taken in by the world instead of us ‘taking the Kingdom of Heaven by storm’. Neptune rules the sign Cancer esoterically and Hierarchically. Neptune is veiled by the Moon in Cancer, the Moon being the orthodox ruler of the sign. Neptune is particularly related and relevant to the ‘journey from darkness to light’, or the ‘journey across the waters’ to the islands of truth. I call the planet Neptune the ‘planet of positive disillusionment’ as a result, because it takes us, when we come under its influence, from the glamours of the astral plane, across the illusions of the mental plane, to the state of pure reason – of direct valid cognition within the higher Self. We recognize the latter via the heart, first, and later at the ‘heart in the head’ (a sub-chakra in the crown chakra). In that state, the mind is simply a transmitter of the clear light into the still reflecting pool of the astral nature.

So, in practical terms, what does all this mean? We, as humanity, and especially across the West via the media, have been subjected constantly to glamours of many sorts, with clouds of information mixed with misinformation sometimes completely obscuring the truth we need to see, that latter which we know in our heart of hearts. This has gone on for many years, not just in the past months. The media has played especially on our fears for years – fears of all sorts of threats to our well-being and security, fears of ‘others’ (we are one humanity), fears for our lives and livelihoods, etc. These fears have been amplified in recent months across many areas, not just relating to the virus. Now, as the virus recedes in many nations, we hear about other threats, as in old familiar enemies and so forth. We will address a couple of these ‘emerging threats’ a bit later, as an example of media and government misbehavior. But now, we face another real threat and it is growing by the day – censorship of information we need to make informed decisions. We just had an example of that yesterday, which we will also touch on. And all this should be alerting us to certain things, as a collective humanity.

Firstly, if we remain emotionally pulled to and fro, we will not arrive at the truth we need to see. That means we have to disconnect, at least temporarily, from media that pulls at us emotionally. That means, essentially, most if not all corporate media and much in the way of internet and social media. Secondly, it would really help all of us, looking at what is taking place, to take time every day, if we can, to sit quietly and ask ourselves: Is what I am hearing or seeing true? Does it make common sense? Or does what I see and hear feel like an attempt to steer me in a specific direction? And does that direction run in concert with what I perceive to be my life path? Does my experience engage me astrally, or am I more sensitive to the silence and bliss I feel within? – because as it turns out, the experience of ‘Christ consciousness’ is a blissful experience. And practically, does the direction the powers-that-be seem to want to take us fit with Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms, which are the basic human freedoms from want, from fear, to worship and to be able to speak our minds freely? I think we all know the answers to that. If we stand back and get a sense of what is happening, we can perhaps see that there is an acceleration toward a goal that is taking place – a spiritual goal, in which light is increasing for us, in which ‘the dominoes of the past are starting to fall’. In concert and in contrast, we also see accelerated efforts to steer our collective path along lines we would rather not go, to scare us, to manipulate us and with increasing suppression of thought and speech. We, as a collective human family, must reclaim our common ‘family values’, our essential human dignity and goodness. We’ll have a little more on the sign Cancer at the end of this letter, but for now we move on to the full moon and a few world events.

The full moon takes place on 24 Jun 2021 at 18:40 UT (4:40 am AEST). The Sun is trine to Jupiter, making this one of the more expansive and optimistic full moon periods in a while. The Sabian symbol for the solar degree is of interest, given recent meetings and news: “A cat arguing with a mouse.” (4° Cancer) We’ll get to why that matters in a moment. The lunar degree is likewise suggestive for the same reason as that of the solar degree: “A group of people outfitting a large canoe at the start of a journey by water.” (4° Capricorn) But all is not fun and games with this full moon. There is a Mars/Saturn opposition in the figure which marks a fundamental flaw in thinking that can lead to a fall if it is not addressed and thoroughly vetted. In addition, we see a quintile triangle consisting of a Venus/Jupiter biquintile with Uranus quintile to both planets, showing perhaps as over-optimism, wastefulness, also possibly showing as the quick fulfilment of wishes, but with gains being lost just as quickly. Then there is the Saturn/Uranus square, ubiquitous for this year, showing the clash between the old order and the emerging realities. The broad interpretation of these factors is along the lines of cautious optimism, with a need to examine motives and realities carefully before proceeding with plans, along with not being overly optimistic about outcomes. Still, with that being said, there are some good and valuable opportunities being presented with this full moon. From here we move on to the latest world affairs, with a particular emphasis this year on Washington, with its Cancerian soul and Sagittarian personality.[10]

Washington and our challenge: Washington is the head center/chakra of the United States, being the nation’s capital.[11] Nations have chakras, too, seven major ones each in fact. We won’t outline them here, except to say that New York is the throat center for the US and also is ruled by Cancer. In addition, Chicago is the solar plexus center and Los Angeles is the heart center. Kansas City is also a chakra. Their latter’s signs are not given. The following has been stated about Washington, DC:

The capital city, Washington, is ruled by Cancer and Sagittarius, and it is this fact which leads the United States to act like the Crab (Cancer) and be pre-occupied with its own house which it carries on its back and [Page 89] to vanish into hiding at the first signs of trouble. Because also the Sagittarian influence is strong, there is a potent determination to stick one-pointedly to any decision made. This its sixth ray personality enforces at times almost to the point of a fanatical blindness and to the detriment of the long range vision which is needed…[12]

 Emphases added. The italicized point will be particularly important as we go along. When combined with the Cancerian desire for security, this has become a particular problem for the United States and thereby for the world over the last century. It is in process of being adjusted and corrected. To the Cancerian emphasis of Washington, we must also add the Cancerian rulership of New York, which is the current seat of the United Nations, but also the seat of Wall Street, one of the more problematic financial centers in the world. Since the 1990s especially, these two centers have been fused to a great degree, with the throat center of the US pronouncing and expounding the ‘virtues’ of capitalism, with its overarching control of the world’s financial system, as exerted through the SWIFT system, the WTO, IMF and the NYSE. We do love our acronymic institutions in the US. And to a great extent, New York controls policy in Washington through lobbying and campaign financing. The stock market is king in the US economy, or has been, and this is something else which is now in process of being initially addressed and eventually corrected. The American oligarchy does its banking through Wall Street and the NYSE is their playground. This is seen to a lesser extent in Chicago as well. It was also stated that the power base in the US would gradually shift to New York from Washington,[13] and to a big extent, that has already happened, though on a material (monetary) basis and via voter bases.

In terms of the Cancerian rulership of other nations, we have Turkey and Argentina as the soul expression and Scandinavia as a collective and the Netherlands as the personality. Tokyo is also ruled by Cancer and is one of the world’s synthesizing centers.[14] As the focus of this part of the letter is on Washington, Turkey is playing a role in Washington’s machinations and Machiavellian pursuits and we will focus on that nation briefly in a bit. Washington is seeking to draw Tokyo closer into its current plans, too, and Scandinavia has been drawn in as well. As to what those plans are, we have examined this in previous letters, and will say little about them here as a result except for a few words. But before we do, there is one important point to be made regarding Washington, New York and the US in general: Neither Washington nor New York are currently representing the collective will or desires of the American people. And that has to change.

We have looked before at why the situation must change in the US. On the domestic front it relates to the widening wealth chasm and neoliberal policies, no better illustrated than during the pandemic. America must address its oligarch problem, and it is a big problem. If we want representative government the corruption that exists in the halls of Congress and in general across American politics has to be curtailed. It will not be an easy process and will take probably many years. On the foreign policy front, the idea that America is the one indispensable nation and the world hegemon has to be addressed, too, and that is happening by degrees. This latter consideration goes to what is stated in the quote preceding. America is where the battle and reckoning between capital and labor is to be resolved. We are primed for it. The real battle will come in the immediate years ahead. On the foreign policy front, some sobering realizations have begun to sink into the US foreign policy establishment. Hence, we just had the hurried summit between Putin and Biden, called for by the United States.

 Coming down from the summit: On the 16^th of this month Putin and Biden held their awaited summit in Geneva – an appropriate setting, seeing as it is one of the world’s major synthesizing centers, the one for Europe, and especially since the US and Russia are two of the nations that hold the subjective destiny of the world in their hands – as well as the largest nuclear arsenals by far. And as it was, it was not a bad meeting. The summit was neither a nothing-burger nor a watershed. So we can perhaps dial back any hyperbole or pessimism on either side of the view of the event. It was a start, as in the journey of a thousand miles beginning with a single step. And there is certainly a long way to go in Russia-US relations. It was not confrontational, neither president read the other the riot act, much as some of their people wanted them to, and there was some positive movement on the diplomatic front. Especially important was the fact they agreed to talk, instead of threaten. There were several reasons for this and we will get to those. Much to everyone’s relief, except for maybe the nuclear arms manufacturers, there will be talks on nuclear arms. And to get things rolling, both of their ambassadors are returning to the other’s countries. Well, wonders never cease.

The UK, on the other hand – the third nation that is supposed to be guiding the destiny of humanity – is not very much in a talking mood, it seems. In a recent phone call between Sergei Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister) and Dominic Raab, Raab got read the riot act by Lavrov (vid), was told to stop making wild, unfounded accusations against Russia (like the whole Skripal fish tale) and to begin showing some respect to the Russians. The Russian Foreign Ministry had a dig at him, too, calling him ‘David’ Raab in their assessment of the conversation. There has long been a strong animosity in the UK toward Russia. As to why, it largely goes back toward ‘Great Game’ competition in Central Asia, and interestingly, regarding Crimea. The two nations had established diplomatic relations in the 16^th century, and at times those relations had been friendly. They have cooperated during times of greatest need, as in WWII, but afterwards relations quickly soured again, as we saw with Churchill and the Cold War, post-WWII. And reflecting the Sabian symbol for the Sun, the British press has just announced a game of cat-and-mouse between the Russians and the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier.

The British public should know that aircraft carriers are easily tracked from space via satellite and via sea and land-based sensors. There is no cat-and-mouse with surface vessels any longer. At the same time there is always quite a lot of ‘messaging’ between sides with regard to military operations, as if to say, “Don’t try anything funny in our back yard.” We just had another example, where the British ship HMS Defender was forced to retreat from the Crimean coast by Russian forces. The ship was 2 miles inside Russian waters. We might ask what it was doing there and why it failed to answer warnings for it to leave. It appears they finally got the message, if they were seeking to ‘test the waters’. Imagine a Russian warship coming within a few miles of the mouth of the Thames. Perhaps Boris needed a distraction from his current negative press. Perhaps the UK needs to expel a few Russian diplomats (vid). Whatever happened, it will be called ‘Russian aggression’ in the West, though the British knew very well they were passing close to Sevastopol, the large Russian Black Sea naval base. But we come back to the summit, as there was also a message there for the UK.

Changes in Washington: It is important to understand what is actually happening now with Washington, and the summit reflected it. We have the following, from a previous link:

“First, the tone of the Biden administration towards Russia and Putin did change, remarkably so, especially after Biden’s infamous “u-huh, he is a killer”. Some sanctions were lifted, the US basically gave up on trying to prevent North Stream 2 (NS2) from being completed, and a number of small steps were achieved, including:

• • An agreement to discuss cybersecurity on an expert level (something the Russians had been demanding for years, but which the USA rejected out of hand).
  • A joint declaration strategic stability (more about that below)
  • An agreement to discuss outstanding issues on an expert level
  • A return of both US and Russian ambassadors to their former positions
  • A discussion on a possible prisoner swap
  • A discussion on possible future arms control agreements

Also of interest are the points which were mentioned in passing, mostly by the US side, but which were clearly not focused on. These include:

• • The Ukraine and Belarus
  • Human Rights (aka “Navalny” & Co.)
  • Russian alleged interference in western elections
  • Russian alleged covert operations against the US
  • The alleged Russian threat to the EU or in the Arctic
  • Russian ties to China and Iran”

 The reasons for the summit: There were two primary reasons as to why the summit was even called, going back to the realizations slowly dawning in Washington. Firstly, the Defense establishment was alarmed at the speed and size of which the Russians mobilized their troops on the border of the Donbass in response to the Ukrainian fandango. We note the summit was called for by the US shortly thereafter. Then, there is the speed at which Russia, China and Iran are rolling out their military capabilities, their ability to bypass the SWIFT system and thus US and EU sanctions and the problems the pandemic has caused for the financial and supply chain systems across the Global North. Especially troubling to Washington are the Russian military advances of the past 20 years. When it comes to near-peer competitors or even strong regional powers like Iran, the US has lost its military supremacy. What to do in the face of the growing economic power and economic systems of China, then? It has been estimated that it would take a decade for the US to catch up to current Russian capabilities. When we note the items discussed at the summit, the US is seeking two things from Russia, 1) to buy time to catch up in technology to Russia, and 2) to be able to focus its energies on China. To do the latter, Washington enlisted the (supposed) help of Europe to ‘counter’ Russia so the US can focus on China.

Regarding the first aim of Washington, mentioned above, the US has no hope of catching up to Russia in the arms sphere. We just had a good example of why. We are talking about the landing of the Chinese Mars rover on Mars, closely following its lunar landing and the construction of its joint Russian-Chinese space station. These have happened in quick succession. There may appear to be no connection between the Chinese initiatives and the American urgency in the arms race, but this bears a little parsing.

In a recent analysis on the Chinese space program, the article itself was revealing, but even more telling were some of the comments that followed it. The gist is that since the US has banned American industries and individuals from cooperating with China in space, China has decided to build its own space infrastructure in response. Its progress along that line is no less impressive than its domestic infrastructure. But to top it off, the Russians and the Chinese are looking at building a base on the Moon, dubbed the International Lunar Research Station. The timeline for it sees it fully manned and operational by 2036. And, it will be open to all nations who wish to participate. In other words, the Chinese and Russians are leaving the door open for Washington. How long would it take the US to do such a thing in its current state? Even now NASA uses Russian rocket engines to carry its heavy payloads into space, though those engines are being phased out.

 The big reason why the US would not be able to currently be able to field a lunar station, though, is due to its educational system and its lack of STEM graduates. This paucity of STEM graduates, coupled with the intense privatization in the US, was addressed by several commenters in the linked analysis article, preceding. We seem to have lost our love of science in the US to a degree and the educational system does not teach people how to think any longer. We are too tied in knots now about critical race theory, safe spaces, gender politics and woke politics to be concerned about space. And there is a section of society who wants to ‘return to nature’ instead of ‘reaching for the stars’. But these things are a big concern to the Pentagon, for instance, because “he who controls space controls the Earth” in their thinking. It is still a zero-sum game in every aspect of the American establishment when it comes to the best and brightest in technology and the military. And since WWII, many in the Washington establishment have the strange idea that they alone should rule the world. If you don’t think so or it seems conspiratorial, there is a recent book that explores it.

The foundations of hegemony: The intellectual foundations of US global supremacy were formed in the summer of 1940 in response to Hitler’s quick conquests in Europe, alarming US elites. We see similar alarm in US elites now over their loss of supremacy. The thinking in 1940 was based around trade and economics – American ability to engage in free trade and economic exchange. It was also a choice between isolation and internationalism.[15] This was stated also in Alice Bailey’s books. The isolationism of the US at the time was materially based, along with a strong pacifist element prior to WWII. Liberal intercourse in trade was seen as a vital American interest. The war turned the US around, and was needed at the time. But then another ideal (remembering the 6^th ray idealism of the US personality) took over and thoughts turned to hegemony (in the name of ‘keeping the peace’) instead of simple internationalism and humanitarian aid to the allied powers. In a key statement from the linked book:

“For interventionist elites, then, the fall of France [in WWII] gave entirely new urgency to the lesson of the 1930s, that armed force was essential to the preservation of international order lest totalitarian aggressors conquer new lands and effectively closed them off to free exchange.”[16]

Emphasis added. Thereby, the idea that went to the rapid construction of the military-industrial complex was born and after the war the elites in Washington saw themselves as the protectors and enforcers of free exchange, noted in the last part of the preceding quote, and especially free exchange of American goods. As well, the idea that any nation who chose to run counter to the way Americans ran business and trade was thus seen at least askance and at worst, an enemy. The seeds of the Cold War were laid in that thinking, as was the coming Pax Americana. Russia was seen as a useful partner during the war, as were the Chinese, but after the fact they became competitors and were cast as totalitarian states, to be met with armed force. That thinking prevails in Washington, London and New York to this day. The cited book is worth reading because it outlines the evolution of the hegemonic thinking of the Washington establishment through WWII and also the idea that the world should be led by the Anglophile nations, that idea having taken root in the British Empire decades before the war. Pax Americana was formulated in the early days of WWII, where the debate between isolationism (pacifism) and internationalism raged. The US went from being primarily isolationist to imperialist in a few short years. The elites in Washington do not distinguish between internationalism and imperialism. When ‘protecting American interests’ is mentioned, it means precisely doing so by force of arms, or now by cyber methods, if necessary.

But here is a little thing worth mentioning: There is no nation aside from the US who is threatening to dominate either the world or a given region, who is militarily threatening the United States or Europe for that matter, not in the manner described to us in the media. The nations portrayed as threats to world peace and freedoms – China, Russia, Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, among others – in the Western press hate war, have seen too much of it, and want to live in peace, to pursue their own domestic development and trade with other nations without obstruction. They threaten no one militarily, unless in self-defense – believe it or not. But alas, cyber warfare appears to be a growing sphere of coercing other nations.

 As an example of cyber-warfare, the US has just seized the American domains of the Iranian news agencies, amounting to around 36 sites altogether. The Iranian (.ir) sites are still open, and in English if you want to see them. If they are not in English you can set your browser to automatically translate them. This comes at a key juncture in the talks on the JCPOA. It would appear to be clear there will be no return to the JCPOA, as Washington seems to think it can pressure the Iranians into agreeing to American rules. It would seem to be an ill-thought move. The new President of Iran, Raisi, is not going to bend to American demands. A good rundown on the elections (vid) and what they will mean were recently given by Prof. Marandi in Iran. The move by the US has the marks of being an initiative by hawkish elements in Washington to prevent the US from going back into the JCPOA. It is also clearly a violation of American ideals of free speech. As stated on the Iranian site, it also shows the rising power of the Resistance, with Washington seeking to block any news in the US from those sites. The number of resistance and opposition sites were simultaneously blocked. We might also wonder why, as in something is maybe being prepared.

Returning to the summit, one of the aims sought by Biden was ‘strategic stability’. Both sides have their own interpretation of that. Martyanov has his interpretation for that: It means the Russians have invented something that is really bad for the US exceptionalists. Martyanov is an expert on Russian weapons systems. The essence of the strategic stability is that Washington is now walking back the war rhetoric, at least toward Russia. The UK has yet to learn. The UK was also left out of the considerations at the summit. And as a further slap to the UK, Macron and Merkel have called for their own EU summit with Putin. In addition, Anthony Blinken recently said the US has no better friend than Germany. But, for the US and Russia, the tamping down of war rhetoric is an important signal, because it means that MAD has been restored, if it is not now in favor of the Russians. The recent actions of the Russians in the Donbass standoff – a trial balloon by the West, really – have shown the Russians mean business and will not hesitate to defend their interests as well as their borders. And the growing de facto alliance between Russia and China has the US particularly worried. With all this in mind, there are two recent media phenomena (and there are many more) which tie into US strategic thinking, one related to Russia and one to China. We start with China.

What if…: What follows is a hypothetical scenario. It may turn out to be true. It may be totally off the mark. It may also be a bristling array of improbabilities. This follows from our consideration of the role of the media in shaping public opinion, which we looked at in the last letter (the topic “How we are lied to”). It receives mention here because of what it might represent and the resulting damage it would do to international relations and people’s well-being. We know the anti-China sentiment is particularly strident in the US and Australia, and to a lesser extent in Europe. It is about to be steeply ramped up. The BBC is harping on about Xinjiang now, for instance. (If you want to get closer to the truth about Xinjiang, have a look at the Qiao Collective) But some readers may not know the extent to which the destinies of the US in particular and China are currently intertwined. That makes what follows particularly concerning. So, here we go: What if the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 really did escape from the lab in Wuhan, and worse, is a bioweapon? Many people believe that it did, or is. Many vested interests across the West and especially in the US would like us to believe it was created in China and released or that it leaked from the Level 4 bio lab in Wuhan. Given the animosity and hawkishness of the Washington establishment toward China, it is not difficult to see why such a story would be rolled out. But it is dubious at best.

Firstly, who would stand to gain by promoting the lab leak or bioweapon theories? For what purpose would they do so, one might ask? To wreck the economies of the West so China could jump ahead in the Great Game, or vice versa? That version of events is highly questionable, as we will outline, but it is gaining in traction, on both sides of the argument. This virus may have been concocted in a bio-warfare lab. The best hard evidence I have seen says it had a natural origin. This scenario is a good case of dot-connecting that allows people to make many pictures of this saga. So, we return to the most pressing question regarding the lab leak theory: Who stands to benefit the most by ‘proving’ the Chinese were behind the production and/or release of this virus? Any takers? Who would possibly want to smear China, to cause widespread condemnation and anger across the world, thus setting the Chinese back in their progress? Who sees China as a threat? We’ll have more  on this ‘threat’ business to follow, but we have gone the past 18 months being told the virus had a natural origin. Now, because of certain accusations – unproven – we have this sudden turnaround by the US Government since Biden took office, with the EU and Australia following in lockstep. ‘Lockstep’ – now, there’s an interesting term. As we, proceed, though, we recall an old saying: Be careful pointing an accusing finger at someone, because there are always three pointing back at you.

Joe Biden has given the US intelligence services 90 days to find the origins of the coronavirus. That in itself tells us the report to be issued as a result of said investigation is to be held as highly suspect, because it takes years, often, to find the origins of any virus. We may never know. We will especially never know if it is a bioweapon, unless a reputable whistleblower comes forward, if this thing came for a laboratory. The report, due out at the end of August, is a smokescreen. Probably it will only confuse issues further, thus burying the lab leak theory for good. A positive finding, i.e. that “China ‘dunnit”, would cause too many uncomfortable questions for the US, as in why was the US funding the gain of function research on this and similar viruses at the Wuhan lab? There are the ‘three fingers pointing back’, and China has already raised the specter of Fort Detrick and UNC Chapel Hill as likely suspects in response to allegations from the US, which started with Trump. Of course, there would never be any investigations into those US facilities, especially by Chinese.

We’ll just go through a few points here and then move on, because the story is really not worth the time, except as an example of media and establishment misbehavior and people’s wish to believe. We start with the main bio-warfare theories:

• China manufactured the virus and unleashed it to ruin the economies of the West, knowing the neoliberal capitalist system is fragile and subject to supply chain disruptions.
• The US manufactured the virus and released it in Wuhan to cause maximum disruption to China, thus destabilizing the country and causing a huge black spot on its reputation.

Regarding the bioweapon angle, I could link many articles on the subject, but what would it serve? A belief is a powerful thing, and to go down the road of blame only inflames passions further. That is not what we need in these days. We need a calm and focused reassessment of a way forward, examining the way our own governments have treated us. The thing is, lab leaks happen, and more often than we would like to think. Biden’s call for an investigation is more likely politically motivated than out of any great concern for public safety, to mollify the hawks in Washington. If the report to come is meant to smear China, he is proceeding along the right path. If its purpose is to further sour the Western public on China, it may have the desired effect, but to do so will only hurt the average Wal Mart shopper, for instance, and raise consumer prices across the West – yet another type of tax and hardship people can ill-afford these days.

Here is a very telling reason why China would not want to ruin the US economy and vice-versa: The economies of the US and China are intertwined. If one were to collapse it would cause extreme hardship on the other. It makes no common sense for either China or the US to want to ruin the economies of each other. China exported just over $450 billion in goods to the US as of last year. The US is China’s largest trading partner. China is the third-largest trading partner with the US, following Canada (#1) and Mexico (#2). And much of the US industrial base has been moved to China and Mexico. Another theory on the bio-weapon idea is that a rogue element in the US released the virus in Wuhan, having set up the lab there as the cover story, and releasing the virus at a major transit hub at the busiest and most dispersive moment in the Chinese year – their Chinese New Year holidays, which were shut down last year because of the outbreak.

COVID and neoliberalism: We haven’t focused much, comparatively, on the COVID situation in  these letters since this virus first burst onto our newsfeeds. Instead, we have looked at the dramatic – we might say seismic – shifts in the world’s power structure, economics and media, as well as the increased polarization of public opinions. But that has served to provide a basis for what follows, because the COVID crisis has been primarily a Western phenomenon, and more specifically, a problem for nations hooked into the neoliberal/globalist project. India has been a most recent example. The UK, too, struggles still with its epidemic. Yet another theory I have heard is that the virus was used (as a bioweapon) to reset certain aspects of the globalist agenda and to push asset prices higher across the West. So, was the virus deliberately or accidentally released, was it a bio-weapon, and most importantly, does it even matter? The answer to the latter, I would say, is no. The origin of the virus is not our concern. Our concern is how it has affected us and what we need to do as individuals and citizens going forward. Let the scientists trace this thing back to its origins, if they can, and then we can address the causes later, once we have all the evidence.

Media fearmongering: What have the effects of the virus been, then? When this first appeared and the media was beginning to ramp up its coverage, I posted the following on the blog site about it at the end of January last year:

“So far there have been 80+ deaths from this virus [at the end of Jan 2020], in the space of about a month. What’s wrong with this picture? Why is the mainstream media trying to scare us all silly? Before we go on, should we be concerned? Yes, to an extent. Should we be scared? No, not at all. Should we take precautions?…It pays to be sensible. The best defense against this disease is to be of sound health, so that even if we do happen to contract it – which is hardly likely thus far – we will survive it.”

In fact, as far as deadly diseases go, the United States has led the nations in fatalities from this coronavirus – and that has little to do with the virus. Many more lives could have been saved, and should have been.[17] In reading about this since the virus first came to our notice, if this was a bio-weapon, it was not meant to be fatal. It was meant to cause financial hardship and societal paralysis. There are two types of bio-weapons, from what I have read – the really nasty, fatal ones like ebola or anthrax, and ‘financial bioweapons’, like this one would be, if it were. The thing is, it has hit the West and undeveloped countries the hardest in terms of financial hardship, which has led many people to believe the pandemic was deliberately planned in an effort to bring the world under a single government, a despotic dystopic surveillance state. But in the West, this has largely been the result of mishandling and/or deliberate obstruction on the part of leaders. And by ‘leaders’, we mean any official who represents the government or who affects policy. In China, this thing was done and dusted in a matter of a few months – without vaccines. There is a clue. If the world had followed suit and advice, then we probably wouldn’t still be having restrictions or be talking about ‘vaccine passports’ and booster shots every six months to a year. The virus would be found only in isolated pockets and easily handled. In all but a comparatively few cases, COVID-19 is relatively easily treated, without resorting to vaccines. We have looked at the following before, too, but obesity and age are high risk factors in this disease, and the US does indeed have a problem with obesity. Italy has a problem with an aging population, for instance. Oh, but we couldn’t follow the example of the Chinese to stop the epidemic in the early days. That’s not who we are, is it?

 Qui bono?: If you want to know why this virus has been such a problem across the neoliberal world, which is most nations, just look at who has benefitted most from it. The stock market has soared. Why? That doesn’t benefit the average citizen. It also makes no sense. Businesses were shut down for much of 2020 and the first part of this year. Pharmaceutical companies have seen huge profits. Americans have to pay $30 for their jabs. The for-profit health system in the US has made a killing off the pandemic, pardon the pun. This is not to say health care workers are part of the problem. Most of them are dedicated professionals and they have been blocked from properly treating this disease. But the higher-ups in the health industry (which is what it is) have made out very well indeed. And housing prices are through the roof these days – pun intended – reminiscent of the housing bubble in the ‘00s. Asset prices have skyrocketed. Expect another crash. This has nothing to do with the health and well-being of the general public. This is just price gouging. Tell me I’m wrong.

And the media companies have done very well, too, from the pandemic. Their ratings have been high, and in a recent admission from the technical director of CNN, they deliberately set about keeping the American public afraid of the bug by focusing on the number of deaths. They did so for the ratings, and probably at the prodding of certain oligarchs behind the scenes. That was criminal, to my mind. They also boosted their ratings with negative stories about Trump. And finally it is evident the pandemic has been heavily politicized. Only the American and AstraZeneca vaccines are allowed in the EU. American and German Big Pharma benefit the most from it. Switzerland will not recognize the Russian vaccines. The Chinese vaccines are likewise not allowed. And this is not because they are ineffective. They are actually quite effective. Meanwhile the nations outside the neoliberal matrix have been going from strength to strength. Guess who they are, as if we didn’t know? That brings us to the Russian ‘threat’, though the media sensationalism doesn’t show it on the surface.

UFOTOFU: That’s a palindrome as well as the title of an album (one of my favorites). There is a whole story there, which I will save for another time. Aside from the wider story, my old taiji instructor – may he journey well to his next life – used to have a saying about all the New Age-speak and astral woo associated with it, and indeed about anything that to him seemed too esoteric or foolish: “Oh, that’s just Holy Tofu.” There is a story that came out in the past weeks and which is developing – the Congressional report on UFOs. It is attracting some attention. But going back to our look at propaganda in the Gemini letter, what we are seeing is actually a media campaign of ‘flooding’ – pushing a story to influence public opinion along a certain line.  We see the same about alleged human rights abuses in China, Russia and Iran. Keep in mind, this story line about UFOs is a distinctly American phenomenon. QAnon supporters are convinced the story has been hyped to distract from Trump’s ‘Big Lie’. Maybe, but there is more to it than that. Never mind the US media is also called ‘Big Lie Media’. The purpose of the story and the report was soon made clear, by none other than a US Congressman.

In a telling statement, Marco Rubio stated in a 60 Minutes interview, regarding UFOs, “Anything  that enters an airspace that’s not supposed to be there is a threat.” A threat? Really? What if the alien craft lands and the lead alien telepathically says, “Take me to your leader”? Is s/he or it then still a threat? Corny, I know. But they shoot illegal aliens, don’t they or put them in off-world detention? (vid. 42:50 It’s an old classic, with a moral.) However, his statement is quite revealing – Rubio’s, not the alien. It shows the sort of thinking which predominates in Washington, if one can call it thinking. Everything is seen as a threat. Probably more accurately, everything is seen for its value as a threat. Of course, this goes along with the Cancer Sun in the US chart, which can tend to be very defensive and easily frightened anyway in its lower manifestation. The architects of fear are routinely busy churning out our daily dose of threats, malign activities and oppressive regimes. In effect, this Congressional report, which neither confirms nor denies the existence of UFOs, is being used as a vehicle for something else. And you can bet there will be a lot of money involved.

Here are a few thoughts, Marco: Do we really believe that an alien civilization that has the technology to bend space-time to traverse galactic distances in a mere instant of time just to observe our little sphere in space has ill intentions? If so, our puny little military abilities would be no match for theirs. We would not have an Independence Day moment (vid), with violins softly playing in the background.  Nukes? Piffle. Viruses (like in War of the Worlds)? I mean, come on. Rubio is Vice-Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The project for disclosure was started in 2007, spearheaded by Harry Reid, along with several other senators. Now, some of the people pushing for this earnestly do want to know what the military knows about UFOs. But a recent comment I read probably pointed to the truth of what is behind this, in terms of threat analysis. The US is lagging behind the Russians and the Chinese in terms of weapons capabilities, and the report to Congress may be used as a vehicle to push through and ‘justify’ more defense spending – especially on hypersonic weapons. Yes, the Pentagon needs more of our money to ‘keep us safe’. The Chinese are moving ahead of even the Russians in the hypersonic area, with a wind tunnel that can produce wind speeds of up to 30 times the speed of sound, a feat unheard of until today. The US has nothing even approaching this type of technology, and that brings up a revealing point.

There has been quite a bit of talk in alternative internet UFO circles about secret US and Russian military technology, with fascination about Skunk Works, Area 51/Groom Lake/Dreamland (vid) and so forth. I have seen the videos with the likes of Bob Lazar and similar stories. But using a bit of common sense, if we already had such technology, wouldn’t we have already used it against a foe, or vice-versa? The real military tech produced at Skunk Works has already been used in battle, such as 5^th generation fighter aircraft. All this hyped spin about aliens is a hoax agenda and a distraction, as well as a ploy for more of our tax dollars. Its appeal to our emotions, especially our fears, is Holy Tofu nonsense. It’s UFO-Tofu.

Do alien civilizations exist? But there is another side to UFOs and ‘alien’ civilizations, one which we have to take on faith, if we have not encountered it directly. Are we being visited? Why are such sightings often taking place in the vicinity of military installations? What is the source and purpose of crop circles? To start, there is a delightful story that recently appeared, by Caitlin Johnstone, which is probably closer to the truth than a lot of what we see on the net, about Fermi’s other paradox. The story is worth a read. But in terms of what is posited in the Ageless Wisdom regarding other worlds, here is what we are told, letting our imaginations take flight for a few moments:

• Every evolving planet will at some point have what we might call its own native humanity, or human species.[18]
• Every planetary scheme with its corresponding visible planet in our own solar system has its humanity and distinct evolution.[19]
• The universe is inconceivably older than science is ready to admit, or even imagines. Even our own solar system is comparably inconceivably old.[20] Given that, the total age of the universe is, for our purposes and conception, infinite. Its beginnings were infinitely long ago and will persist for a like period into the unfathomable future.[21]
• Every world has its own cycle of manifestation, which might be called ‘waking consciousness’, its period of obscuration (‘sleep’ or ‘death’) and its own series of ‘lives’ within the infinite order of the universe. The same applies to solar systems. For instance, Mars is in obscuration (dormant, as in no visible life), Mercury is just coming out of obscuration and Venus is in her last round (getting ready for dormancy).[22]
• We know that a great number of solar systems (stars) that we can at present observe closely enough have planets orbiting the main star. As evolving systems and Beings, they, too, will manifest their own humanities, or already have, unrecognizable as they may be to us.

 If your head has not already exploded, from the preceding points it would be a logical conclusion that it is impossible we are alone in the vastness of space. And we can only observe a tiny portion of it close-up. To believe we are alone is to severely limit one’s thinking, to the point of exceptionalist thinking. It is a very anthropocentric view, extremely limited and patently unimaginative. And then, to think that alien civilizations are ‘out to get us’, to colonize and conquer us? – well, talk about psychological projection! Who is the warlike species in our solar system? Well, yes, Mars does have its ‘School for Warriors’, but Mars is currently in obscuration. Perhaps that warlike tendency is one reason we are visiting there. And then there is talk of ‘colonizing’ Mars, speaking of language and projection.

Like many readers, since I can remember, I have always had a fascination with astronomy and with what is ‘out there’. I can say likewise to having a great interest as to what is ‘inside’. We could say, conversely, if we want to know what is in outer space, we must first come to know our ‘inner space’. Form is emptiness and emptiness is form, quoting the “Heart Sutra”. Space is a form, a phenomenon, and we are inseparable from it. We are told we are a microcosm of the cosmos. By coming to know our true essence, we come to know the universe. It really is that simple. The only thing that stops us from realizing that is our own lack of imagination and effort to do so. But the preceding points would be summarily dismissed by materialistic science. To materialistic science, there is no ‘evidence’ those statements are true. Current science sees the universe only through the thinnest slice of time and phenomena. The initiates of our world would simply smile, disagree and admonish us to practise.

The power to imagine: Einstein himself stated, “Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.”[23] In that statement we have the path to human progress. Imagination is at the heart of meditative process. Imagination is the soul seeking expression, once it takes flight, through the personality. If we are constantly bombarded (perhaps the correct word) with narratives, images and films casting aliens (perhaps not the correct word) as having evil intent toward us, where is our imagination likely to lead us? If instead our imagination takes us to the vastness and infinite time scale outlined in the bullet points preceding, and then we ask ourselves why we have not been invaded, colonized or destroyed before now, then what is all this fuss about possible alien threats being presented to us, if not to steer us toward something we would rather not do?

Here’s what I think, what I imagine about space and other humanities, if you are interested: We are being watched by ‘visitors from afar’/’humanities from other star systems’ (a better term than ‘aliens’). They watch and they wait, with increased interest. They are waiting for us to demonstrate certain characteristics and technologies, preferably both, which would allow contact between ours and other humanities, of a peaceful intent. The reason they are often sighted around military installations and the like is because of our technology. Our most advanced technology these days is very often manifested first through our militaries. These other humanities watch our progress in that vein. Are we dangerous to ourselves? If so, would we be a danger to other humanities? Probably so. Beyond that, I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to why they are here. But we have sent a man-made probe to the edge of the solar system (ours). We have ventured into space. Our planet is alight at night now. We are less and less bound by gravity. We are a noisy little sphere, our near-space cluttered with radio signals of all types, space debris and satellites, which were not there almost a century ago. In terms of known history, all of a sudden, we are a presence in the solar system. That has meaning. And our technology has touched other worlds in our system. Our consciousness is expanding, rapidly. I think that is being watched and assessed more than any other factor. But when it comes to essentials, what does any of the preceding matter?

Dealing with essentials: The evolution of our technology, as an out-picturing of our evolving consciousness and along with it, is certainly being observed by the great Teachers on our planet. Call all this Holy Tofu, if you like. But I do not expect the Borg mothership to suddenly appear and assimilate our humanity, or space insects (vid) afflicting our planet, or reptilian types presiding over a secret cabal (vid) that rules over our planet clandestinely. That’s just Hollywood, a projection (literally) of our own – or projected by others into our own – fears and misgivings about our fellows, our governments and our environment. It is often also a product of overactive imagination. Such films and videos portraying other humanities negatively also only serve to excite the astral nature rather than to promote a positive view of contact (vid) with other worlds. It also boosts sales. People love horror movies, for instance, for the adrenaline rush they bring. And finally, closing out this consideration, of what use is it to worry about or to spend endless hours speculating on ‘visitors from other worlds’ anyway, except to acknowledge that they probably exist? When it comes to our own spiritual paths, which is the prime importance anyway, we have the following:

A deep interest in the final root races and speculation as to the life going forward on other planets may be of interest, but it is relatively futile and useless; it fertilises unduly the imagination, causing love of uncheckable detail, loss of time in wild surmises, and the chimeras of an unenlightened intellect [which is what the mainstream media machine plays upon]. That part of the Plan which relates to its immediate application is of interest and usefulness. Obedience to the immediate purpose and duty is distinctive of the trained disciple. Those who know far more of the Plan than we can, refuse to let Their minds dwell on the unprovable, yet possible, hypotheses for future racial development. They focus Their attention on that which must be attended to at this immediate time.[24]

Emphases added. We could say the same regarding all this COVID business, regarding speculation. In other words, if there is a fire and one’s house is in danger of burning down, it’s kind of counterproductive to be musing about what the neighbors are doing the coming weekend instead of putting out the fire. Our lawmakers should be tending to what is immediately in front of us – service of the immediate national need. A note to Marco Rubio, and anyone else who may be barracking for more money chasing after phantom menaces: We should be tending to our own society rather than worrying about the new toys and progress of other nations. Focusing on ‘the other’ only distracts us from our own evolution and path. Our own path should serve to compliment those of others and add to the greater good instead of always looking at how we ‘measure up’ and whether or not we can defeat other nations in a conflict. That only shows the adolescent and misguided nature of our governance. We should be looking at ways in cooperating with all nations instead of always looking for a fight. To all the elites in Washington: Let go of the idea that we, the US, are exceptional, have the best ideals, are the guardians of ‘freedom and democracy’ and the leader of the ‘free world’. We are hardly indispensable. We are a nation like unto others, and need to start behaving like a normal country. And pay attention to what the people are saying. In that way we can all live long and prosper. How’s all that for Holy UFO-Tofu? Perhaps the preceding topics have served to show how our opinion is steered on a daily basis. There is one last topic and then we will close this letter.

Turkey: Turkey should be of particular interest to us in this letter for several reasons, mostly because of its Cancer soul and its Scorpio personality. But we will probably take it up again in the Scorpio letter. The rays for Turkey are not given. But the Cancer soul of the nation involves a large number and expanse of people. Turkic languages are spoken widely throughout West and Central Asia, and to a degree in Northeastern Russia (Republic of Yakutia). Notably, a Turkic language is also spoken in Xinjiang. In fact, the most notable modern Turkic-speaking ethnic groups include the Turks themselves, Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Turkmens, Kyrgyz and Uyghur people. The origins of the Turkic people are disputed, but analyses tend toward the idea that they originated in northeastern China, which is interesting, and then migrated westward through Mongolia and into the steppes of Central Asia, eventually settling in modern-day Turkey. Modern Turkey accounts for about 40% of all Turkic-speaking people.

The modern independent Turkic states include Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Turkey. Xinjiang has particularly been influenced by the Turks in a negative manner, Turkey being a NATO member, having produced thousands of the terrorists now in the Idlib province of Syria, soon to be liberated by the SAA. In that is the reason the Chinese have had crackdowns in Xinjiang, because the radicalized Uighurs were committing acts of terrorism in Xinjiang. We will leave this as a seed for the Scorpio letter, because Erdogan has been causing quite a lot of trouble throughout Central and West Asia with his Uighur mercenaries, and now Washington wants the Turks to take over the airport in Kabul once the US leaves. Perhaps that will be the Sultan’s ‘graveyard moment’, as in Afghanistan being called the ‘graveyard of empires’. So it is quite symbolic the US is leaving, having been defeated by the Taliban. Does this signal a mark to the end of Washington’s imperialism? The Soviet Union collapsed soon after they left Afghanistan. But Afghanistan is called the ‘graveyard’ because no empire has been able to pacify the land. That being the case, Erdogan is unlikely to fare very well there, either.

The Taliban are very quickly re-taking all the territory the Americans occupied in Afghanistan after 9/11 since that ‘endless war’ started in 2001. The difference with the Taliban this time is they are simply asking the Afghan soldiers to disarm, register with them and then they provide the soldiers with enough money to return home. The great majority of Afghan soldiers happily comply. So, we might ask ourselves why we have spent so much blood and treasure in Afghanistan all these years if we are simply handing it back to the Taliban. Here’s a hint: Russia and China, along with opium. We’ll leave it at that for now.

Dispersing the clouds: In closing, we live in a huge cloud of emotion these days, which threatens to rain down as a storm at any moment. This is a real problem for any of the water signs – Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces – or for anyone who is particularly sensitive. One might get the idea, given our musings here, that Washington is behind a lot of what we are exposed to, but that would be a misconception. It is a worldwide phenomenon. But the Cancerian/Sagittarian emphasis of Washington has certainly contributed its copious share to the world’s insecurities. However, given the Cancerian rulership of Washington’s soul, seeking expression, there is something more gestating beyond what we see on the surface. It is said the US has a profound and positive role to play in the world’s destiny into the future, once it lets go of its personal attachments and finds its more mature expression, one of Aquarian brotherhood and goodwill. It probably goes without saying there is a ways to go before we achieve that as a nation. We Americans don’t have to make America great again. We just have to be the good people we actually are and demand the government follow suit. We will get there, and the way forward has been outlined for us – by a release from Washington’s present self-centered policy, its evasion of responsibility and releasing the innate national fears and distrust.[25]

In Alice Bailey’s books there are several mentions of ‘raising the energies of the solar plexus to the heart center’. This means the de-emphasis on the personal emotions and love nature (sentimental love) with a corresponding increase in agape, or unconditional love, which results in the increase in intuition. Psychic phenomena are de-emphasized, at the same time telepathic interplay increases, unencumbered by emotional concerns. One becomes a clear receiver of information from one’s higher Self and one’s immediate spiritual group. That transference from the solar plexus to the heart also sets one increasingly upon the bodhisattva path. One is more able to feel the world, but also to enable to world to feel us. We cease to be isolated, to willfully isolate ourselves. This, Washington has yet to learn, or to allow.

Problem children: Thus, the US as a whole is seeing the nation increasingly isolated in the world as a result of Washington’s policies. We are no longer seen as agreement-capable. We are losing our influence, largely due to the one-pointed, stubborn adherence to the idea of empire, of exceptionalism (a negative Sagittarian trait) enforcing our ideals and ignoring those of other nations. Instead of building a lighted house and dwelling therein (the Cancerian soul motto[26]), our house appears to be crumbling, all the while Congress refuses to pass spending bills to rebuild infrastructure, always attaching some other useless and counterproductive clause that waters down the bill. Instead of regulations that nurture the growth of the nation and Main Street, we take away the very regulations that ensure our infrastructure stays intact. Maybe that will begin to change soon.

Cancer rules the national chart of the US. Cancer in the orthodox rules family, housing, infrastructure, nurturing, parenting and gestation. Perhaps the intensity of the deception foisted upon the America public through the media and government double-speak is a sign, preliminary as it is, of the baser evidence of Neptune beginning to act upon the US. We have built a grand ‘house’ in the US in the past. We can do so again. Neptune governs to path from self-love to universal love and goodwill. It governs the path from glamour to clear light. It is perhaps no surprise that Hollywood is in the heart center of the US. The glamour of Hollywood, in a way, stands as a test of the ability of Americans to distinguish between the glamourous and the real. Real life is not glamourous. It’s a lot of ‘chopping wood and carrying water’. It is also a lot about learning to love more deeply and effectively. The sign Cancer is the crucible of family life, the householder life the way forward and the initial training ground for the Western disciple. Gone are the days when the monastic life or life lived alone in the jungle were the path to enlightenment. The Western life demands enlightenment in the bustle of everyday life. But we must see our way clearly.

“Our horizon is extending into infinity; our eyes are no longer focussed upon our immediate foreground. The family unit is now recognized in relation to the community, and the community is seen as an integral and effective part of the city, state or nation. Dimly, and as yet ineffectually, we are projecting this same concept into the field of international relations.”[27]

 Sveglia, America! Currently, when people hear about the goings on across the world, there is little concern. It’s more about what we are going to do on the weekend. People really don’t care, speaking of the general public. I know most people reading this do care. But so many in Western nations do not care what their government does or doesn’t do, or they complain but do nothing else, which changes nothing. The public in China do care and they influence their government directly. That should make us angry, indignant at the lack of concern our own governments seem to show, and the lack of public will to change things, except for the next election cycle. People in our societies, speaking as Westerners, say they just want a normal life, whatever that is. ‘Normal’, it would seem, would be to be able to live without a care in the world, to have our desires catered to. And we are given plenty of opportunity and the means to do so. But what if, all of a sudden, we were unable to?

What did the last year and a half show us? What did we take away from the experience? What will it change, if anything? Are we disillusioned with the powers that be, now? Are we disillusioned enough to do something about it? It would seem not, not just yet. Perhaps we need more lockdowns and privations to drive the point home. That is not to say we want it, but we do need a change of perspective. We have some ‘problem children’ in our human family, in our leaders, and they need discipline and training in right human relations. Or they need to go. Perhaps it will show in the next elections, wherever and whenever they are. The care and the raising of children is primary to a healthy society. It is also primary to a healthy spiritual life, which starts in the home, by the way. We in the West need to rebuild our houses, meaning our infrastructure and communities, and to reinforce our family relations, but with a new commitment – to let goodwill be the guiding principle of our international and community relations. In the words of Jean-Luc Picard, Make it so! Things are only impossible until they are not.

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