The program of this May Call celebration was born over Christmas 2022, while Manfred, Sabine and me were together with a few other members at the Master Mountain Retreat Centre in the Nilagiris of South India. A storm was raging outside for several days hiding the outside world behind clouds and rain. It was just about 6 weeks after the passing of Master Kumar and we pondered on what should be the essence of the 5-days May Call celebration in Neckarelz 6 months later. We wanted to focus on synthesis – the energy of the Aquarian Master – friendliness and friendship, the qualities of Lord Maitreya, the World Teacher.

At the end of this year’s celebration, we mentioned this origin to the group and why we had tried to integrate various proposals and contents – and the May Call was a time of profound inner and outer integration processes.

A very aged elderly lady from Belgium, who could no more come to the May Call celebration herself, gave the inspiration for the Tibetan prayer flags. Over many long e-mails and phone calls, Sabine had had intensive discussions with this lady about the meaning of the flags, about the technique of labelling them and about the need to create coherent sounds. In earlier years, she had travelled for over 30 years with a Tibetan Lama over the world until he sent her away with the words, she should now go to Maitreya. Not knowing what to do, she searched the web. She found the World Teacher Trust and came into contact with me and since then she linked her life to these wisdom teachings. Sabine then ordered the prayer flags online and during the May Call celebration, we wrote messages of the CVV Sharing prayer or little symbols on the flags.

Hung in the wind, the prayer thoughts were spread into the ether and distributed at the end of the seminar to be placed a different locations.

The May Call location was next to a Temple house, a former castle of the Knights of St. John from the 12th/13th century, of the time of the Crusades. At May Call, Chuck, a retired psychology professor from California, spoke about the story of knight orders of the Templars, leading later to the masons who, as free masons, went through Europe to the building lodges of the gothic cathedrals. And he showed how these impulses carried ancient wisdom found new expressions in later centuries and in the teachings of the WTT.

There was a great range of other activities during the May Call celebration – prayers / meditations, water and fire rituals, and guided visualisations.

We saw a video extract from a speech Master Kumar gave about “The importance of the May Call” at the 2022 May Call celebration in Bengaluru. We participated in an intercontinental meditation and listened to Guru Prasad’s inspiring words about working together in the new era.

We exchanged in small groups about how we met Master Kumar and which incidents or exchange with him particularly touched us – a very touching exchange. Nearly the entire group life was bi-lingual, English and German.

Saturday at the beginning, there was the General Assembly of WTT-Germany, and later presentations of current projects, also a presentation about the work of Sintergética – Synthesis in the area of healing, impulses from Latin America. And there was a talk on astrological qualities of the present time.

In the morning of May Call Day, 29 May, there was a fire ritual in the beautiful amphitheatre.

And later, there was the cake ritual and distribution of May Call gifts.

And in the evening of the May Call Day celebration there was a beautiful candle ritual in the garden – a traditional “Pilgrims’ Dance” – two steps forward and one step sidewards, accompanied by live guitar music.

The day after May Call, there were further exchanges and part of the group visited the Raptor Research Centre at Guttenberg Castle. It was very impressive to see the big birds of prey – eagles, vultures and eagle owls from very near and observe them flying. You could understand well why the eagle is such a profound wisdom symbol.

The whole celebration was like a big colourful garden with many different plants and flowers, growing in synthesis – the sprouting seeds of the Aquarian energy will continue to spread in surprising ways.

The air sign Gemini has to do with exchange and communication. The ruler of the sign is Mercury; he helps us to distinguish between what is reality and what is illusion. However, those with a strong Mercury are also tempted to use their mental skills in a tactical and manipulative way, twisting facts to their own advantage. Used with transparency and love, however, Gemini and Mercury also help resolve conflicts and improve interpersonal relationships through friendliness. Through the Gemini energy, we can see the underlying unity in apparent opposites and thus understand the deeper purpose in relation to time and place. The goal is to realize inclusiveness and synthesis beyond dualities.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Gemini illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Gemini 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 first “Aquarian Salon”, 21 May 2023, was a great experience and a beautiful experiment of an online group exchange on spiritual topics with the power of the group. All was done just for the joy of doing as a free and non-commercial initiative. There was a vital participation with sharing insights, observations and questions. I blogged before about the preparations.

We were a team of 5 persons conducting the Salon:

Frank Berger, a guitar teacher from Berlin, Germany, started the Salon with a live guitar play. We then spoke together an old Sanskrit Prayer for Group Coherence.
Risa D’Angeles, from Central USA, gave an introduction moderated the conversation. She is an experienced psychologist and a well-known astrological teacher and publishes the Night Light News.
Rosa Fernandez, living near New York City, was taking care of the members who wrote in the chat or who wanted to speak.
Lauren Glass, from California, operated the Zoom activities and showed the slides we had prepared.
The participants gave their thoughts and understanding of the symbolism of my paintings which I had selected for the presentation. And I added further perspectives concerning the artwork or answered questions.

Besides our team of 4, 38 persons from about 8 countries were actively participating. Some feedbacks: “”Just wanted to share my gratitude and joy for being part of this wonderful project! Felt such great inspiration in today’s first Aquarian Salon! Thank you all!”, “To everyone behind the Aquarian Salon…. It was a joy working together, all of us. We did a wonderful job together!”, “These feelings are what I sensed. Excellent attitude, bright intelligence and a warm heart.”

Here is the uncut recording of the meeting; it is about 1:50 h. If you would like to see a specific part, go directly to the minutes indicated here:

· Welcome, explaining the schedule: 0:20
· Guitar piece: 5:10
· Prayer for Group Coherence: 10:30
· Introduction: Meaning of Salon… : 12:20
· Exchange on image: Aries – Spring-up of Awareness : 30:10
· Exchange on image: Taurus – The Bull and the Lingam : 53:10
· Exchange on image: Gemini – Group Consciousness, Merging and Emerging : 01:04:20
· Exchange on image: Scorpio – The Seven Kingdoms of Nature : 01:15:40
· Exchange on image: The White Island : 1:29:30
· Closing words: 1:43:10
· Violet Flame Invocation: 1:44:30

For updates, you might subscribe to the Telegram channel of the Aquarian Salon. And if you want to see my Images of Synthesis paintings, go to ludgerphilips.org.

You find the recording in the YouTube channel of “Friends of World Teacher Trust”: https://friends.wtt-global.org.

Gemini represents the threshold between the inner and outer worlds. We understand the world of objects as three-dimensional, and movement is considered as the fourth dimension. We experience a picture or a photo as two-dimensional, even if we travel with the sight into the worlds of the image. Depending on the rendering, we may see perspectives that appear spatial, or we may even see sensory illusions. In either case, we experience the world perceived through our senses as something external.

However, we often find that we are immersed in something, especially in moving images such as movies, games, or virtual reality. We do not feel that we have left the external, physical world and are in the internal world of imagination. Reflection or contemplation allows us to see the structures of the subtle and leads us to deeper realms. Intense, prolonged contemplation finally brings us to the experience of the dimension that lies beyond the constructs of our mind.

From a photo of the facade of the Bavarian State Chancellery, Munich, I have extracted a detail and used it to create the archway of two pillars, connected by a crossbeam. The pillars carry the Sun and the Moon, symbols of the world of light and the reflection of light. The mountain between the pillars directs the view up to the vault of heaven in the background. The zodiac, with its figures that appear to us alternately, is like another doorway to the world of cosmic symbolism. The stars of the cosmos are reflected on the white snow of Mount Shasta, just as the cosmic world is reflected within each of us.

At the bottom of the image, our view passes through the columns and the outer courtyard of the temple. Then we look through a square portal into the interior covered with a triangular roof. Square and triangle are symbols of the manifested and non-manifested worlds. The symbol of Mercury above the entrance represents our discrimination. The inside of the temple shows a checkerboard pattern. To our mind, the squares are each black or white. But the distinctions of the mind dissolve as we approach infinity, the background beyond all understanding.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Gemini illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Gemini 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.

Taurus is a symbol of strength and vitality. The individual on the path stands between the pull of the personality and the pull of the soul. The Taurus personality is focused on the desire to be ahead of others, driven by ambitious. The Taurus soul is deeply motivated by the desire to work selflessly for the Divine Plan. In touch with the soul, we can transform the personality and accomplish tremendous works of goodwill in the world.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Taurus illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Aries 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.

Through the Sun in Taurus, energy streams down to the Earth, causing germination and growth of life. The Sun is therefore called the fertilising bull, representing the spirit or divine aspect of will. The Moon in Taurus is called the Cow and represents that which is impregnated, the matter. Through this impregnation, the earth provides us with nourishment.

The union of spirit and matter is the expression of the divine Word. Before the Word was uttered forth, it was with God. Before we speak, the Word is in us. The Sun in Taurus represents the Word in its inner meaning or concept. The Moon in Taurus represents the expressed language, impregnated. Language is feminine by nature and the content of language is masculine. Their union is wisdom as creation. This is symbolised by Mercury as the calf; he activates the expression of the subtle in the gross. The bull, the cow and the calf thus epitomize these three phases of the expression of the Word.

For the representation of these subtle realities, I edited three photos of journeys to India of a bull, a cow and a calf. In the background I subtly hinted at the spheres of Sun, Moon and expression in creation.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Taurus illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Taurus 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.

Last Friday was Good Friday, as it is commemorated in most of the Western Christian traditions, where Easter is celebrated the first Sunday after the full moon of Aries – this year, Thursday, 6 April). Master KPK (Sri Kumar) explained that the esoteric Passover took place directly before the Aries New Moon and it was calculated according to the lunar calendar. Therefore, Good Friday should be celebrated the Friday before New Moon as long as the festival still falls in Aries, otherwise, as this year, on the last Friday in Aries – this year, 14 April.

Like the last years, we did a “cleansing ritual” at the Paracelsus Centre of WTT in Einsiedeln on the “classic” Good Friday, being a festival here in Switzerland. And, also like the last years, we were two persons going.

The Paracelsus Centre is in a house at the place where Paracelsus is said to be born, next to the old “Devil’s Bridge” across the Sihl river. At our arrival we saw the effects of the land slide on other side of the bridge which recently happened besides the bridge directly below the barn of the farmhouse. There were fortification works going on. There is no danger to the bridge and the house of the Paracelsus Centre; they are built on rock.

We cleaned, washed, vacuumed and put everything back together again. Outside was also a cleaning ritual – it was raining when we went to Einsiedeln, a famous old pilgrimage centre.

Our Good Friday ritual also included lunch at the “Tulipan” opposite the monastery church, where many people, especially Kosovars, streamed out and into the restaurant as they do every year. Afterwards, we also visited the monastery church with the Black Madonna.

Later, back in the Paracelsus Centre, we read Sri Kumar’s lecture on Good Friday (PDF). And we also contemplated the pictures and descriptions of the “Way of the Cross” series in 14 + 1 tables I had painted 40 years ago. You find them here and also in my book on “Paintings” (PDF 2013), p 89ff.

Just as we finished reading, bright sunrays pierced through the dark clouds and lighted the room for some minutes – a magic moment. We concluded the stay with the evening prayer before driving home again.

About the creation of the Salon and of our triangle of Ludger (Switzerland), Alexis & Risa (Oklahoma/USA).

I have known Risa D’Angeles from a long time ago. Our interest in the wisdom teachings brought us together and we became friends in the context of the World Teacher Trust. I once even met her; it was in 2019 during a meeting with Master Kumar at Mount Shasta, California. Risa is a writer and teacher, and she is the founder and director of the Esoteric & Astrological Studies & Research Institute & College / Night Light News.

Over 18 years, we mainly had contact through written exchanges in various projects, and during nearly 9 years she silently participated, without camera, in the bi-weekly online study groups on wisdom teachings. At the beginning of February 2023, we met for an exchange via Zoom. I had invited her with the idea to see how our collaboration could further develop. Her partner, Alexis, participated sitting in the background. During the start of our conversation, Risa asked if I was interested in an explanation of my astrology chart which I gratefully accepted.

Listening to Risa and Alexis explore my chart was like a dam breaking within and the start of a totally unexpected level of development. They both commented “in stereo” on various dimensions of my chart. They told me how they had been observing me over years giving profound answers to questions concerning the wisdom teachings. They said there are strong aspects in my chart relating to being a teacher. They proposed that I begin to share, offer and present the knowledge I had gathered over decades and that my “Images of Synthesis” paintings, full of profound symbolism, should be the means.

I hesitated and said that I don’t see myself talking and people just listening. That there are already many other things going on in my life and that, in case, I would prefer a more interactive form. They suggested that we can cooperate as a triangle. They intensely encouraged me to start teaching on a larger scale than I am doing up to now and they would strongly support me. I was touched by their inner presence; they both have a profound astrological and psychological background and experience in working with people. Our discussion went into many depths and the ideas were thrilling. But there were many questions and I needed time to digest the idea.

We began our discussions with weekly exchanges. When Risa proposed to start a salon, I replied that it reminded me of the salons in France about art and culture in the pre-revolutionary times and of the auto-mobile salon of Geneva – but that the term salon sounds a bit old-fashioned. She replied, “No – an Aquarian Salon“. I was thrilled. She said, about “Art, Astrology and Wisdom Teachings” and added “A conversation“.

That’s it. The fire was on. We agreed to open a public virtual salon four times a year on a Saturday during the signs of the fixed cross – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, but to start at 0 degree Gemini, on Sunday, 21 May 2023. It will be presented by the “Circle of Good Will” and by “Night Light News“. Details will be shared later.

The idea was warmly welcomed by friends. Some friends are also willing to help, with music and other forms of art. The project started sprouting.

For more information see the PDF about the Aquarian Salon.

With the fire sign of Aries we enter a new solar year. The earth unfolds new energies and Mars, the regent of Aries, gives us vigour and enthusiasm. The average persons use it to fulfil their personal desires with fresh impetus. People on the spiritual path turn the power inwards; for them Mercury is the regent. They do their work of good will with determination, having thought deeply.

The Sun is exalted in Aries and it is there the ruler for the wise ones. The Sun represents the soul; so the wise ones use the new energies pouring into Aries to manifest the next step for the Divine Plan.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Aries illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Pisces 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.

Shambala is the highest centre of enlightenment on earth. It is the seat of Sanat Kumara, the Lord of the Planet, and he presides over the evolution of planetary beings. Shambala is also called the thousand-petalled lotus of the earth and it has its counterpart in us as our thousand-petalled lotus, the Sahasrara or crown centre.

The inner path to Shambala is to visualise Shambala and connect with the lotus in the Sahasrara in our daily prayers. In doing so, we align ourselves with the super-self within us and link to the sound OM. Remembering Shambala daily strengthens our will to do good; our knowledge unfolds and our actions become more effective. Our will begins to change in a positive way. We become a citizen of the world in the true sense of the word.

For the design of the painting, I placed two flight photos of the Alps and the Himalayas in the background. I designed the silhouette of the meditator based on a picture of Master MN. For the design of the inner path to Shambala, I reworked elements that I had already used in earlier pictures.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Aries illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Aries 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.