The image of the month of Libra illustrates a profound aspect of a relation between Shambala and Shasta revealed in the book of Sri K. Parvathi Kumar on “Shambala“. I also wrote a number of blog-posts on Shambala; see further the Facebook group “WTT-Shambala“, which was presented in a blog-post.

In the book “Esoteric Astrology” by Alice A. Bailey, p 168, Master DK mentions, “Libra admits the soul into the world centre which we call Shamballa, for it is the polar opposite of Aries which is the place of beginnings. Libra demonstrates the perfect balance of spirit and matter which first came together in Aries.“

Shambala is the soul centre of the Earth and is said to be as old as the planet. There are many legends and references to Shambala and its king in different Eastern scriptures.

The scriptures affirm that Shambala is in the second ethers hidden in the Gobi Desert within the geographical territory of the present day’s Mongolian nation. It is hidden and inaccessible to humans. Only advanced initiates gain access to Shambala as per the call from Shambala.

The lord of Shambala is called by many names, among others The Lord of the World, The Ancient of Days, Sanat Kumara or Shasta. Kumara means Son of God. Shasta means a synthesis of the three energies of will, knowledge and action. The Mount Shasta on the West Coast of the USA is named after Sanat Kumara. Sanat Kumara is the ruler of the beings on the planet and also the teacher and the awakener.

The lord works from Shambala in the East and from Shasta in the West, to synthesize East and West at all levels. Sanat Kumara abundantly manifests the Aquarian energies through Mount Shasta which in turn awakens the entire state of California for pioneering global evolution in the field of electronics, communications and information technology.

The effort of Shambala and Shasta is expected to manifest the golden age by the year 2424. We might imagine the rainbow bridge between Shambala and Shasta, to realize the energies of Aquarius and thereby transform the self. The painting visualises this with the help of an image of the earth produced by the geospacial Nasa WorldWind app showing a North Polar perspective of the northern hemisphere. A rainbow and a straight line connecting Shambala and Shasta give the vision of the bridge.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Libra illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Libra paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

Virgo is the second mutable sign and the second earth sign of the zodiac. The message of Virgo is, “I serve!” As servers, we, as disciples, should sacrifice our own interests for the sake of higher and greater interests. When we are acting with pure motives, grace descends and fills us with joy.

The ruler of Virgo is Mercury. On the level of personality, we can misuse Mercury’s energy by being very calculating and even scheming. If we are always calculating and even scheming, we cannot serve selflessly. Initiates are great servers. They serve so much that they forget that they are serving.

You find there all previous Virgo paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Or you subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts for putting wisdom into practice – the only way for character transformation.

Virgo helps us to develop virgin energies within us. Virginity is a state of purity in thought, word and deed, through which we can attain connection with profound wisdom. On every plane we are guided by teachers as we undertake to transform ourselves to become more refined beings.

Because of the subtlety or density of matter, there are seven planes of existence. Thus, Seven Seers or Rishis have appeared in creation. They are related to the Seven Rays and exist within us as the seven centres. The Seven Seers work on all seven planes for the Mother of the World.

We are highly recommended to acknowledge the presence of the Seven Seers in our being on a daily basis. We can visualize the Seven Seers from the head centre to the base centre and also feel their existence on the planet. This will gradually establish a connection with these most exalted beings of the planet.

For the dome of stars of the background, I used the stage design for The Magic Flute, Hall of Stars in the Palace of the Queen of the Night, by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1847-49). I designed the World Mother with photos of a statue of Mary and a depiction of Mary.

The illustration of the Seven Seers builds on a photo by Dslcards / Wikimedia of the Apostles frieze in the Baltaha Monastery, Portugal, and a column statue of an apostle from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A Himalayan scene shimmers in the background and the constellation of the Great Bear, the cosmic equivalent of the Seven Rishis, can be seen in the upper right.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Virgo illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Virgo paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

Here is the uncut recording of the second “Aquarian Salon” from last Saturday, 19 August 2023. It shows an experiment of online group exchange on spiritual topics with the power of the group. The Salon was again realised by a team of 5 and by a group of supporters.

It is a team work, and this is the team realising the meetings:

For tuning in, Frank played some inspiring live guitar music before the beginning and also at the start and end of the program; Risa gave an introduction about the energies of the present time, why we do these Aquarian Salon meetings and why we use the “Images of Synthesis” which I have done. And she also moderated the conversation. Lauren prepared the slides and operated Zoom operation; And Rosa took care of the participants and their inputs.
The entire recording is 1:37 h, on YouTube. If you would like to see a specific part, go directly to:

• Welcome, explaining the schedule: 0:00
• Guitar piece: 3:30
• Prayer for group coherence: 09:05
• Introduction: Introduction – Energy of the Time, the Idea of the Salon… : 10:30
• Exchange on image: Cancer – The Descent of the Soul into Matter : 31:00
• Exchange on image: Leo – The Mystery of the Dog-Star : 53:35
• Exchange on image: Virgo – The World Mother, Planetary Chains and Cycles of Humanity : 01:12:28
• Exchange on image: Aquarius – Cooperation in Goodwill and Light : 01:28:05
• Exchange on image: The White Island : 1:29:30
• Violet Flame Invocation: 1:32:30
• Closing music

We received some warm feedbacks, here a selection: “Connecting with everyone is beautiful – caring loving, seed of nucleus happening here”; “Beauty as part of the salon – magic”; “New creations in thought patterns within us – as Aquarian Salon unfolds”; “This is truly an International Aquarian Salon”.

The next Aquarian Salon will be Saturday, 11 November 2023, 07 pm, CET (UTC +1) / 12 pm, CST (UTC -6).

Yesterday, we met with the team of supporters of the Aquarian Salon for a rehearsal – exchanging about the experiences with the first Salon, about little changes and the tasks of the different team members.

As already announced, the second Aquarian Salon will be on Saturday, August 19th, 2023. We will meet again at 07 pm, CEST (UTC +2) / 12 pm, CST (UTC -5). See here for more info (PDF).

For the warm-up before the meeting, we will open the Zoom channel about 15 minutes before the start. While the participants will slowly come in, Frank will play some guitar pieces and Lauren will show the program and also give a preview of the paintings that we will discuss later during the Salon.

The structure of the meeting will remain largely the same, as you can see in the program. We will again have an interactive exchange with the participants, moderated by Risa, and she will also give an introduction. The images are a selection from my Images of Synthesis paintings.

Towards the end of the rehearsal, after the content and the technical issues were discussed, we had a very lively exchange about some future initiatives beyond the range of the Aquarian Salon. A group collaboration around a joint task creates possibilities of developing ideas. The group of supporters of the Aquarian Salon is indeed a beautiful vessel for this. And the next Aquarian Salon promises to be again very inspiring.

The first newsletter came out for Leo Full moon 2000. It was called “Full Moon Round-Letters”, as a direct translation from the German word “Rundbrief” – I thought, it is not “news” but about eternal wisdom, so I didn’t want to call it “news-letter”…

The idea for this newsletter was given by Master Kumar, when my wife and I met him in the home of friends in Zurich in June 2000. Following a suggestion of the Master, the newsletter was called “The Lunar Messenger” from Leo 2004 on.

The topics expanded from spiritual astrology to general spiritual topics. “The Lunar Messenger” became the monthly synthesis of various aspects of the wisdom teachings, while the newsletter contained other messages related to the teachings, like book presentations or, from 2010 on, the Pictures of the Month. And the pictures are given with an extract of the wisdom teachings on the website of the Circle of Good Will, while they are given with a detailed explanation of the image and the symbolisms on the website ludgerphilips.org.

We are now in the 14th cycle of the monthly paintings giving facets of the symbolism of spiritual astrology. And with Leo, we are starting the 24th annual cycle of the newsletters of the Circle of Good Will.

Leo is experienced with the golden light in the heart center, the light of Buddhi. When our heart lotus is blossoming, we can ascend and reach from there the head center with the electric radiant light in the Ajna. It is not a technical matter but it requires inner work and outer acts of good will. For this, we receive support and inspiration from the teacher and the wisdom teachings.

The Images of Synthesis give short extracts from the wisdom teachings. And the 14 images for the month of Leo illustrate the related astrological symbolisms with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Or you subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts for putting wisdom into practice – the only way for character transformation.

Here come two paintings related to Lord Dattatreya – one is the new painting for Leo, and the other is an older painting I recently reworked. Here is now first

“The Mystery of the Dog-Star”.

The constellation of the Dog Star is called Sarameya Mandala in Sanskrit. The main star of the Dog Star constellation is Sirius. Sirius is the most brilliant star in the night sky. In Vedic symbolism, Sirius is personified as Lord Dattatreya. Dattatreya is the Master principle in creation; he is the Cosmic Teacher. Dattatreya is always depicted surrounded by four dogs. The dog represents vigilance, a great ability to listen and loyalty. The dogs are the guru, the teacher. Those who are attentive enough can hear the Master’s voice speaking from within.

If we engage with Lord Dattatreya, we will find that what is said is very mysterious and mystical. It is beyond our understanding. But when we connect with this sublime figure, known by the seers of ancient times, magical, mysterious transformations take place within us.

The Vedic seers perceived that the highest energies of love and compassion come into our system from Sirius and can only be received by the heart centre. These energies from Sirius come to us through the south. The Dog Star moves around the South Pole. It is the southern star. Sirius is located in Scorpio; it enters our system through the Central Sun of Leo, Regulus.

I designed Lord Dattatreya with a photograph of a statue standing on the South Pole of the Earth. Four dogs surround him. The representation of the globe was generated with the help of an image from WorldWind.earth, which uses NASA images. For the design of the Dog Star, I used an etching by Hugo de Groot, a Dutch humanist (1583-1645). At the top right you can see the Leo glyph, on the left the constellation of Leo. The earth is surrounded by 12 stars, indicating the 12 Adityas, the cosmic correspondences of the signs of the zodiac. At the centre of the image and of the globe, the Dog Star also radiates at the heart of Lord Dattatreya.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Leo illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Leo paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

The Mother Principle, Dattatreya and the Descent in 10 Steps into Creation

Painting from 20 November 2011, reworked on 30 April 2023, pencils, crayons and photo work

According to the Wisdom teachings, the Cosmic Person is the supreme God principle self-existing without mother and father. From there the Mother principle comes down and conceives the creation in her womb as her child. She comes down in 10 steps through 4 planes up to the gross material plane. The Mother is represented as a young lady, the planes are represented as spheres, and the10 points of the Pythagorean decade symbolise the complete creation.

In the picture, the centre of the decade lies at the womb of the lady, the top of the triangle at her heart centre. She is standing in a lotus, the principle of unfoldment. In her inner she carries a form of Dattatreya, the Cosmic Lord of Yoga. He is an embodiment of the Trinity, the synthesis of the First, Second and Third Logos. The decad is the ancient most symbol of Dattatreya. Since ancient most times he is evoked by the seers through this symbol.

There is a visualisation exercise where you imagine the Divine – be it Christ, Dattatreya or whosoever –standing over the solar plexus and the meditator becoming one with him. The delicate figure of the Mother is standing in the area of tension between the seminal emergence and the tremendous power of the manifesting energies. She carries in her heart this tension between the delicacy and the power of the presence of Dattatreya.

Cancer is a water sign, and all the waters of the Earth are associated with Cancer. Cancer is ruled by the Moon. Water carries the lunar principle, as it reflects the qualities of the environment. The waters represent life and the waters of the higher plane are the ethers.

Cancer is considered the abode of Varuna, the supracosmic intelligence that rules over the hidden potencies of the ether. He is symbolically represented as a boy of five years and with four arms. Riding a white dragon, he moves through the waters of space. Thereby he draws lines of power into the ether with a trident in his hand. An extract of a painting illustrating the symbolism of Varuna – which originally was not created for the month of Cancer:

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Cancer illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Cancer paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

21 May, we started with the first “Aquarian Salon. A conversation – Art, Astrology & Wisdom Teachings“. Now, the second Aquarian Salon is on the way. We will meet again on Saturday, 19 August 2023, 07 pm, CEST (UTC +2) / 12 pm, CST (UTC -5). The meeting will start on time. See here for more info (PDF).

Cancer is said to be the gateway for the birth of souls, of humanity; this means, the descent of the soul into the form and matter where the matter completely holds a grip over the soul or spirit. The spirit finds its release from matter in the opposite sign of Cancer, that of Capricorn. These annual cycles of birth, or spiritual death, and death, or spiritual birth, through Cancer and Capricorn are imitations of the drama of evolution. The growth of the foetus in the womb buries us, the Soul, in the grave of the physical plane.

The space around the embryo is like a globe to us with ourselves as our geometrical centre surrounded and impregnated by the twelve signs of the zodiac. After the birth of the personality, we follow the path of our life with ourselves being the centre of our experience. Through our spiritual evolution, we conduct the symbolic journeys of the soul growing in awareness through experience. Thus, we slowly overcome the influences of death and rebirth.

In the centre of the painting we see a foetus designed on the basis of a drawing of William Hunter (1718-1783). It is surrounded by the zodiacal signs from an Italian church, photo of a friend. The upper dome is created with a transformed view of the Himalayas from WorldWind.earth using NASA images, and with a transformed extract from a NASA photo of a galaxy. The lower part shows the reflection of car headlights on a street seen through fog. It illustrates the arrival of the soul on earth and the beginning of its path.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Cancer illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Cancer paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.