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THE CANCER FESTIVAL 2024

21/22 JUN 2024

© Malvin Artley

“The new world that we seek will enlist the cooperation of all peoples on a basis of human equality, self-respect and mutual tolerance.”[1]

Topics (linked to paragraphs):
Cancer
Esoteric Cancer
Our reason for being here
The full moon
Prefacing remarks
‘Washington’
Does Washington have a soul?
Current events
Preliminary conclusions

Greetings Everyone!

It’s election time here in Europe! We had to vote in Rovereto for our mayor a couple of weeks back, with a scandal having overshadowed the accomplishments of the outgoing administration. Two weeks after that, the elections for the EU Parliament were held. We couldn’t vote in that one because we were out of town, not that it would have made a difference for Italy. Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia dominated that election for Italy’s contingent in the EU Parliament and were shoe-ins for their victories. The Five Star and Lega Nord parties both lost seats. In fact, Lega Nord got trounced in the election, a clear signal they need a change of policy. When it came to it, of the Western European states, only Meloni’s party fared well in the EU elections. Voter turnout for the EU elections here in Italy was down from 2019, to just under 50%, reflective of discontent people in Italy are feeling with Italy’s direction in recent years. We will have a closer look at it all here later, but back to local news.

I wrote the bulk of this letter at the sea. My wife needed a vacation, and I found a space to work. I am not complaining. There was plenty of time and space to relax, and my wife had her things she wanted to do as well. I was able to have a space at the hotel’s bar, complete with a steady supply of cappuccino next to the pool while the world was happening around us. We were there for two weeks. The kids across Italy got out of school starting the 2nd week there, while the floodgates opened at the end of our stay. Summer is now officially upon us. School’s out for summer! Fortunately we had excellent weather, while here at Rovereto it rained virtually the whole time we were away. All of my wife’s acquaintances here were rightfully jealous. Now, after two weeks of too much food, not enough exercise and the full moon upon us, it is about time to consider matters Cancerian. Our time at the sea set an excellent backdrop to this festival, because the sign Cancer rules the sea and smaller bodies of water, like swimming pools, along with the care and the raising of children. So before we get into the meanings of this sign, there are a few matters at hand that first need to be stated. Due to events, this letter will be in two parts, the 2nd part to follow in a couple of days. The reasons for that are as follows:

There were a number of international meetings that took place since the last full moon, along with elections here in Europe, all of which have sharply changed – as in ratcheted up – tensions in key areas, with the consequent rhetoric and reporting on those meetings and resulting tensions being sharply ‘moderated’ in the Western press, if you get my meaning. What we will see as the summer progresses are critical developments in the two major conflicts we are currently witnessing, with the Western powers seeking to obscure the fact that both conflicts are going quite badly for their Western supporters. Of course, we hear otherwise. But a closer look at what is taking place is warranted if we want a clearer view of where events are headed and if we seek to see through the fog of astral obscuration of the truth. For that reason the 2nd part of this letter is an extension of and examination of the events that are outlined in the bullet points following our look at the full moon. If you have no interest in the evolving events you can skip the 2nd half, but it is advisable to make oneself aware of what is actually taking place instead of what is dutifully parroted across Western legacy media, as well as the sensationalist and often very biased posts we see on social media. As much as possible I have sought to report the facts as clearly as I could ascertain them. The one thing that stands out with all these events is that a new international order, one based in Aquarian principles – one based in the lede quote at the start of this letter – is being birthed in the birthing pangs of what we see in our current conflicts and world view. And since we are talking about birthing here, that brings us to our consideration of the sign Cancer, and what it might represent for us this year.

Cancer: The sign Cancer is typically associated with motherhood, the birthing and care of small children, with water, food, home, hearth and family life, infrastructure, cities, land, one’s inherited tendencies, the masses, Rochdale (England), all occupations associated with water, the chest and digestion. Cancer is ruled by the Moon in orthodox astrology. The relationship (syzygy) between the Moon and the Ascendant from conception through to physical birth governs the process of the taking of incarnation in its formative stages – the dance between the soul and form, between dharma and karma, respectively. And as such, the Moon via Cancer represents our primary experience of group life,[2] as experience through the family and the early experiences in one’s community, the latter representing the mass consciousness as revealed through public opinion and one’s culture. These are heavily conditioning factors in one’s life, and sometimes difficult to reconcile with the wider world, as much of that conditioning has fallen into the subconscious. Wherever the sign Cancer is found in one’s chart (meaning the house placement and thus the field of experience) it gives an indication of where one’s primary conditioning is most easily accessed and expressed. These ideas pertain to one’s personal experiences and growth as reflected in one’s personal horoscopes. The esoteric side of Cancer represents much more, and of greater importance to one’s spiritual development than does the standard lunar rulership of the sign.

Esoteric Cancer: We read in Bailey’s Esoteric Astrology that Cancer is ruled by the Moon and Neptune[3], with Neptune being the ruler esoterically and hierarchically. The Moon and the Sun are said to veil certain planets esoterically and in the case of Cancer, the Moon veils Neptune. Neptune is the God of the Waters, and the sign Cancer is a water sign, representing the astral plane and in the process of birth, the amniotic fluid. Cancer, along with Leo, are the only two signs which have only one planetary ruler at all three levels.[4] Leo has the Sun for all three levels of rulership, while Cancer likewise has the Moon. For the sign Cancer this singular rulership has specific meanings and potency.

The sign Cancer rules mass consciousness and instinctual awareness.[5] The rulership by the Moon and Neptune represent the relationship between the Mother of all Forms (Moon) and the God of the Waters (Neptune). This is the synthesis of form and desire-sensitivity, representative of a stage of consciousness known as ‘Atlantean’. The desire nature (the astral nature) is the seat of our attachments and sentiments, detached from reason. This is not to say Cancerian types (Sun or Ascendant) are non-reasoning, but they often do carry strong attachments to family, home and heritage. They are frequently people of strong sentiments. But there is more to it than that. They can be people of great sensitivity because of the Neptunian expression, and can possess a vivid imaginative faculty, as the astral body can become a strong reflector of higher impulses when it is clarified and turned toward spiritual pursuits. The sign Cancer is one of the ‘psychic signs’ because of such sensitivity and its facility on the astral plane. The sign is often found to be prominent in the astrology of psychics and mediums. But for accuracy in psychism, the power of the discriminating mind must be present, lest the psychic become mired in astralism and unable to ‘see the forest for the trees’. There is a distinct tendency and possibility (perhaps probability) for lower psychic readings to be colored by the sentiments and conditioning of the psychic, as in ‘seeing through a glass darkly’. Neptune governs the psychic nature.[6] But the psychic nature of Neptune also gives us the sensitivity needed to find our place amongst our larger subjective group, what is known as our ‘astral family’.

Our reason for being here: Consider the following:

“It should be borne in mind that every human being belongs to a physical family which constitutes his link with the animal kingdom, and also belongs to an astral family. Through that [latter] affiliation on the upward arc he is linked with his egoic group…”

While it is true we incarnate as individuals within a family unit, the physical family giving us the opportunity to incarnate as a human being and providing us with a body, we actually incarnate in line within a far wider impelling purpose, within a group known as one’s astral family. The astral family allows us to link with our soul group.[7] Here is the point, and a key one to understanding why we are here at this moment in history: While we may think we incarnate as individuals, we actually incarnate in groups, in human waves, if you will. The members of this astral family can be (and probably are) dispersed throughout the world, but we are united in karma and dharma with that astral family. To put the matter more pointedly, we are incarnated within the astral family in order to fulfil a purpose, or set of purposes, dependent up what the wider world needs at any given moment in history. Regarding the astral family we also have the following. The astral family represents the:

“…occult heredity of any person, for in the astral is to be found the clue to the “egoic family or group.” With this clue the student can then ascertain the characteristics of his group on egoic [soul] levels, its place among other egoic groups, and eventually his ray or group centre. As time elapses, the true study of heredity and esoteric transmission will open up, and the whole fabric of thought built up around such modern expressions as:

a. Consanguinity or blood ties

b. Physical heredity

c. Atavism

d. Intermarriage

e. Family relationships

f. The family unit

g. Soul mates

h. Divorce and many other terms

will be shifted to higher planes, and will be recognised and used in connection with soul relationships. They are, as yet, but a faint realisation on the physical plane of certain inner relations, which are seeking outer response…”[8]

We are here, at this moment in history, to aid in the birthing of the new world, one based in Aquarian principles – community, respect between nations, cooperation instead of competition and conflict, friendship in distinction to alliance and enmity, the spirit of ‘all for one and one for all’ – and this just to list a few items. We are being presented with clear choices in the melee taking place around us: We can remain attached to the past, make choices based on our sentiments and conditioning, or we can take what is best from our traditions and apply them towards cooperation with what is best in other traditions. We can open our minds to possibilities instead of proscribed or prescribed outcomes. Above all, we can take a wider view and see what is happening is due to the cyclic ebb and flow of energies and forces and see the passing Piscean order as having prepared us (in a positive way) for what is evolving into an Aquarian imperative, in line with the ‘changing of the guard’ in this transition between the astrological ages. There is no need for panic or for foreboding. Public awareness has had a large boost over the past few years as the old order has tried their mightiest to keep us uniformed and in line with what they want us to believe. We just saw an example of that rising public awareness in the EU Parliamentary elections, where the centrist technocratic leadership was soundly rejected. In short, the public, albeit largely unawares, is trending to the esoteric motto of Cancer, the sign ruling mass consciousness as it does: “I build a lighted house and therein dwell”.[9] We take these thoughts as a basis as we begin our look at this full moon and the events since the last full moon.

The full moon takes place on the 22nd of June 2024 at 01:08 UTC (the 21st in the Americas at 9:08 pm EDT, the 22nd in Australia at 11:08 AEST). With this full moon following so closely on the Cancerian solstice, the dynamics of the chart are much the same as that in the ingress figure. Neptune stands out prominently in the lunation, with the Sun quincunx Pluto and conjunct Venus and Mercury, the latter two also in Cancer. Of interest here is this is the first of two full moon periods with the Sun in Cancer and the Moon in Capricorn – the 2nd one being an astrological ‘blue moon’. The 2nd full moon of Cancer has the Moon conjunct Pluto, a most powerful combination. Illusions will be shattered left and right over the next two festival months (‘festivals’ running from full moon to full moon). There is quite a bit of significance to the astrology of these two full moons, as we will see when we get to our look at current events. This northern summer underscores a critical phase in the development of evolving events and the birthing of a new order, in that we will witness the fallout from events to be examined here. These two full moons represent what many people are already sensing: There is no turning back to the old status quo from here. Decisions have been made that will carry us forward to 2025 and onward. Our international order is being ‘rebirthed’.

What we will undoubtedly see from this full moon over to the next one is a strong emphasis on accurate information on the one hand, and attempts to obscure or cancel the public perception of the truth of matters on the other hand. This is represented by the Neptune square to the lunation axis and Pluto’s quincunx to the Sun. The t-square with Neptune suggests this month will be one of hypersensitivity to unfolding events and energies. The propaganda coming out of Washington and NATO these days is eye-watering (speaking of Neptune and water), while at the same time the rest of the world is speaking truth to power. Washington and the Western powers cover their ears and parrot misinformation and at times, nonsense. Their behaviour is reminiscent of a child covering their ears and shouting “La! La! La! La! La! La!” when they do not want to hear something. The behavior does not change anything and reality soon enough comes back to bite them. But for those people and nations who are self-aware the possibilities for intuitive breakthroughs are clear enough. The combined influence of the Sun with Neptune and Pluto is occultly powerful and the door to intuition stands open wide to those who can avail themselves of the presented opportunity at this full moon. The Sabian symbols for the degrees of the lunation offer up some clues as to how this will work.

Since once again we are taking a closer look at the capital of the United States in this letter, we look at the Sabian symbols for the degrees of the lunation. For the Sun we have:

  • A man on a magic carpet hovers over a large area of land (2° Cancer)

For the Moon we have:

  • Three rose windows in a gothic church, one damaged by war (2° Capricorn)

The Sabian symbol for the Sun reflects exactly what is needed in these days of increasing tensions – the ability to lift one’s consciousness ‘upwards’ out of the mass of emotional tensions and fog of war in order to see situations clearly, to get the ‘big picture’. That is what we will attempt to do in the remainder of this letter and in the 2nd half, to come later. Dane Rudhyar had the following reflection on the solar symbol:

“This is the paradox which confuses so many minds. As long as the intellect restlessly searches for new horizons it is confused by its searching. Accepting a stable focus, the mind can raise its point of observation and see reality in a truer perspective. The individual becomes the whole focused at this particular point for a particular task and function. He can at least reflect the consciousness of the greater Whole, Humanity.”[10]

The lunar symbol obviously refers to the destructive and disruptive influence of war, with the ‘rose window’ representing the means by which the light of the soul can penetrate into one’s consciousness. Unless we take time and care to examine the larger import of events and what they represent, our ‘window to the soul’ becomes damaged or at least obscured by engaging our fears, sentiments and attachments relative to said events. These two symbols taken together give us a clear picture of what is needed and attempting to be transmitted to us during this quarter – calm analysis, seeking to access the soul behind the events, ‘rising above’ all the attempts to steer our attention away from evolving events or toward certain outcomes (‘pre-bunking’, for instance, better known as ‘narrative steering’ or attempts at manufacturing consent), and so on. The square of Neptune to the lunation axis presents a choice to us: Either we immerse ourselves in the strong astral currents that so impinge upon us these days, or we ‘rise above’, engage the magical powers of the soul and draw into our consciousness the all-encompassing field of intuition, the blissful realization of the true meaning behind the unfolding events. If we can do the latter we take our magic carpet ride into the planned future for our planet and humanity, seeing current events simply as the catalyst and means for arriving at that future. If we engage in the former than we wear ourselves out worrying about whether or not we even have a future as humanity, or if so, if we will live under the jackboot of fascism and dystopia the rest of our days. For those people who want to live in anxiety this period will be the summer of living dangerously.

Personally, I choose the restore the ‘rose window’ – which has nothing to do with seeing things through ‘rose-colored glasses’. Instead, a rose window is a representation of a large chakra or mandala, particularly of the collection of chakras above the head, meditation upon which gives us the doorway to our higher powers and consciousness. With these points in mind we move on to our consideration of current events as they have evolved since the last full moon. Given the Cancerian emphasis in this interval, and indeed for this quarter, perhaps we might get an idea of what is coming onto incarnation in terms of our world in the immediate years ahead. Events are evolving at incredible speed now, but light is breaking through. It has been a very packed news cycle, hence the increased length of the remainder of this letter. Take your time in considering what follows, while at the same time realizing events are pressing now on certain parties, particularly in the West, as the old order dies and a new one arises.

Prefacing remarks: Before we get into our look at current events as they reflect inner realities, there is a video with Jeffrey Sachs which needs to be seen by every American. By extension, it is also worth the time by anyone living in a Western country to watch the same video in its entirety. It is a little over two hours in length. You can also watch it in sections, indicated on the web page. Jeffrey Sachs, in case you don’t know of him, has been an advisor to US administrations for the past 30+ years – a diplomat, a man who has spoken to world leaders and diplomats across the globe. His experiences are unique, in that he has spoken directly with the aforementioned leaders and diplomats. He thereby has a wealth of inside information. More than that, though, without saying as much, his interview is also indicative of his ‘road to Damascus’, as he came to understand the way the world and especially Washington actually works. We have looked at many of the topics he covers in the interview, which we have also examined in these letters for the past 10 years. If you want the truth about the world, especially about the machinations of Washington, you need to see that interview.

What follows here is quite a lot to digest. We are at a point in the two conflicts we have been following (Ukraine and Israel/Gaza) where the Western powers know they are losing, and which will end in Israeli and Ukrainian surrender in some manner soon, though one will never hear that voiced in Western media. However, it essential we know what is actually happening and why, because sooner rather than later there will be a total Western media blockade on the truth of these matters, with independent journalists and officials being silenced in the West, one-by-one. Personally, I hope it never comes to that, but to the powers-that-be, it is essential in their minds to be able to control what people believe, instead of allowing – much less encouraging – people (us) to think and investigate for ourselves. And in that regard, Washington and the EU are the major culprits who are seeking to control the free flow of information. But since Washington should be seeking to express its Cancerian soul in a positive manner, we focus more on Washington in the remainder of this letter.

‘Washington’ here, meaning the District of Columbia, is a collective term for the concentration of think tanks, military leadership, alphabet soup agencies (CIA, FBI, etc.), the unelected security state and controlling oligarchs of every faction who have a say in how the US is run (in distinction to ‘governed’). And the list is not all-inclusive, because there are numerous foreign interests who have set up shop there, most noted these days being the Israeli Zionists. So, in the remainder of this letter, whenever Washington is mentioned, this is what is meant. It is not a monolithic, homogeneous construct, but a collection of forces, each pursuing their own self-interests, which they call ‘American interests’, presented as the seat of the US government. Then, there are the American people, who at present seem to have little say in or knowledge about the operations of this mish-mash of interests we call a government. Yet, there is a collective expression.

Does Washington have a soul?: As stated, Washington, D.C., a.k.a ‘The Beltway’, is ruled by Cancer at the level of soul. Nowadays it is a favorite saying among a growing number of voices in the US and abroad that Washington has no soul. Given its most recent policies, especially in mandate Palestine and Ukraine, the saying would seem to be true. Yet, there are well-meaning and good people who live and/or work within The Beltway and who struggle and work to express the true soul of Washington, people like Jeffrey Sachs, for instance. There are many like him, about whom we never hear (Make sure you follow all of them, if you want to hear what the government is trying to hide.). And what is the true soul of Washington, one might rightly ask? Opinions vary, but the soul of Washington is expressed primarily in the foundation document of the US, its constitution. It is, or should be, the law of the land.

We Americans coming through grade school all had to be able to recite the Preamble to the Constitution. We also had to attend a course in Civics. As it is now, only 39 of the 50 states require at least one course in Civics or government. It was one of my favorite subjects, one I thought upon taking it would be boring. It was one of those courses, like math, English and P.E. that everyone had to take. That course in Civics was fascinating, though, because it told us at the time how government in the US should work, and work for the people as well. One thing the events of the past few years have shown, sad to say, is how far our government in the US has strayed from those principles. And nowhere has this become more evident than as a result of the two conflicts we have examined here. The ball started to roll in the direction of rising public awareness, too, with the pandemic. The situation is very similar in the UK and EU, due to the pervasive influence of Washington and the European exceptionalist mindset that persists among European elites.

Current events: I had originally intended to spend some time with the US elections in this letter. However, given current events it is better to address that at the next full moon, which is also a Cancer solar festival. Besides, there are matters foul and afoot in American politics these days, matters that will become clearer after the first presidential debate (Have your popcorn ready. It should be ‘interesting’.), due on the 27th, in a few days. We’ll have a few choice words about American politics as a preview to the next letter in part 2 of this letter, out in a few days. With all the preceding in mind, then, we move on to the more important events that have taken place since the last full moon, the full moon of Gemini. We will list them here and then look at a more extended analysis in the 2nd part of this letter:

Preliminary conclusions: Several items stand out about the topics listed in the bullet points. Firstly, the meetings in Asia focused upon building economic links, especially ones that would enable trade in a nation’s own currency, bypassing the Western-imposed financial exchange mechanisms. Trade within and between the Asian blocs is picking up steam quickly, largely as a result of the cooperation between China and Russia. That cooperation has been forced by Washington’s belligerence to both nations, a cooperation greatly feared in The Beltway. We see Russia’s soul destiny of linking two ways[11] and its destiny lying more in the East[12] coming into focus more and more with each passing year, much as the West seeks to impede it. Russia’s 7th ray soul is leading to an idealized order and a community of interests.[13] In contrast, Washington needs to drop its fanatical rhetoric about its supposed ideals (freedom, democracy, human rights, ‘American values’ and so on), which actually hides an imperialistic adventurism, expressive of its Sagittarian personality.

The greater world sees Washington’s hypocrisy and double-speak clearly, as well as its willingness to use finance as a weapon or coercive measure. That has been the catalyst for the development of a cooperative bloc or of blocs based in mutual trade and similar cultures, mostly in Asia. The Western meetings were largely about ‘countering’ the rise of the East and preserving Western dominance. Hence, we see the unwavering support of the Western elites of Israel and Ukraine. Then, there is the public, who also see the hypocrisy of our Western leadership. They are sending a clear signal to the elites: Pay attention to us, or you will go. That dissatisfaction will grow into open rebellion soon enough. Thus we find ourselves at a critical juncture in conflicts of all sorts – political, economic, cultural and militaristic. In the next part of this letter we go into greater detail as to what is taking place. And amidst it all, we mount the magic carpet and rise above our sentiments, fears, anxiety and fog of misinformation on our way to making of our world a lighted house. What is happening now is evoking the souls of people across the world. Let us join in that great awakening before us.

Cancerian blessings,
To be continued.
Malvin
20 Jun 2024

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  1. Viscount Halifax in an address to the nation in November 1939. We don’t hear that sort of thought out of the UK elites these days. It was cited in Bailey’s The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, p. 238. In that work Halifax was said to be, “…a great Englishman, a government official and an aspirant to right and truth:” He was Foreign Secretary at the time. It was just after the start of WWII. The idea for the multipolar world was beginning its descent into incarnation even then. ↑
  2. Bailey, Alice A., Esoteric Astrology (1951) New York, NY, Lucis Publishing, p. 311 ↑
  3. Ibid, p. 321 ↑
  4. Op cit ↑
  5. Ibid, p. 312 ↑
  6. Ibid, p. 340 ↑
  7. Bailey, The Light of the Soul, p. 277 ↑
  8. Bailey, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p.797 ↑
  9. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, p.343 ↑
  10. Rudhyar, Dane, An Astrological Mandala, (1974), NY, NY, Vintage Books pubs. ↑
  11. https://development.malvinartley.com/2022/02/08/excerpts-from-the-destiny-of-the-nations/ ↑
  12. Bailey, The Destiny of the Nations, p. 85 ↑
  13. Ibid, p. 54 ↑

2014 in L'Alpe di Siusi, fresh from the US and Australia.

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