The wisdom teachings speak of a single pillar around which all is moving. This pillar exists externally as the axis of rotation of the visible space globe around the celestial pole. It exists as the axis of North Pole and South Pole, around which the earth rotates. It has its correspondence in us as our central vertical column, around which all our activity happens.

Inside the central column, we can experience the unchangeable part of our existence around which the mutable life plays. The central vertical vibration enables us to experience the pure consciousness and the different states of existence. Within the column, there is the Light of awareness, which awakens us in the morning. And it is the same Light, which enables the Sun to shine. Reaching that Light is the aim of yoga.

I used extracts of two NASA photos of the Sun for creating the seven globes connected by a central channel of light. They show the central axis and the vibration of the energy. They also indicate the seven centres within the human body and the seven planes of existence. Contemplating on the column of light may reveal further subtle dimensions.

On seeing the image, a friend asked how its topic is linked with Scorpio. When working to bring down the image, I tried different ways to illustrate the descent of spirit into matter but without success. I then realised that the path of descent and ascent is the same, and I fused them in the central vertical column. At the bottom you see a dark semicircle around the two suns at the base indicating the sphere of dense matter.

At the very bottom, there is a little deviation of the central column. It corresponds to the coccyx or to Mula, the constellation between Scorpio and Sagittarius, the bottom point of descent and ascent. Without the question of my friend, this would not have been revealed.

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

In our body, the Sahasrara or head centre corresponds to the North Pole, while the Muladhara or base centre is the South Pole. The diaphragm, between the solar plexus and the heart centre, is the equator, which corresponds to the equator of the planet and to the zodiacal sign of Libra. The equator is equidistant from the North Pole and the South Pole and the point of balance between the two poles. Libra represents the equilibrium between the outgoing horizontal movement towards objectivity and the inward vertical movement towards subjectivity. When the fulcrum is stable, there is an ascent of consciousness to higher planes.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Libra illustrate the related symbolism. You find there detailed explanations of the paintings in four languages (en/de/es/fr). And you can download print-versions (high resolution) for free. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter.

Libra represents the process of subjectivity coming out into objectivity. Libra is the consciousness that separates the inner from the outer, creating the illusion of the material. When we are disconnected from the light, we feel lost; this is the symbolic fall of the soul into matter.

Libra is the fulcrum principle causing the rotation of the wheel of creation. It is the force radiating from centre to circumference, bringing diversity from out of unity. It is also the blending force bringing diversity back to the unity at the centre.

I created the image by merging seven photos taken from a hotel in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, around sunset time and at night. The sphere around the setting sun indicates the centre and circumference of the wheel. The sphere together with the line of the horizon, accentuated by the Rio-Niteroi bridge, and the lower horizontal line, formed by high-rises, also hint at the symbol of Libra. I had placed the symbol of Libra at the centre; it is now fused with the colours.

In the lower part of the painting, I designed an urban gorge in a vertical direction by mirroring the flow of traffic lights and high-rises. The traffic is seemingly crossing a river created by reflections of streetlights and high-rises in the water of the bay. The light of the traffic flowing through the gorge reminds one of a cataclysmic chasm in the earth.

You might also see the human frame, which I first had in mind when starting to work on the painting, with the Sun as Libra lifted up to Aries in the head, the outstretched arms, the spine of traffic lights and the navel centre, Libra, at the lower crossroad.

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.

The earth sign Virgo stands for striving to serve. This means that we take on tasks and responsibilities for the benefit of a group, a larger group, and the entire globe, rather than working for ourselves. That we are willing to spend more time, more energy, and more resources for the benefit of others. And that we follow a good rhythm of inner alignment and are willing to transform ourselves. Only through service we can get the touch of the Hierarchy.

The life and teachings of the Masters are extraordinarily beautiful and all-embracing. They are an example for us to follow. It is a path by which we can become Sons of the Virgin, Sons of God.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Virgo illustrate the related symbolism. You find there detailed explanations of the paintings in four languages (en/de/es/fr). And you can download print-versions (high resolution) for free. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter.

The work of Virgo is that of protection, nurturing and inner maturing so that the soul can shine forth. Virgo represents the World Mother, the universal divine consciousness that expresses itself through the seven colours, seven sounds and seven planes of creation. This Mother of the World is the subtle light behind the material forms. By meditating on the Mother, her light and splendour can radiate through us, and we begin to merge with Her.

The image shows a representation of Goddess Lakshmi pouring out abundance with her right hand and blessing with her left. Instead of lotuses, the Eastern symbol of unfoldment, Lakshmi now holds roses in her other two hands. Her seat was also designed with a rose instead of a lotus.

I placed the divine Mother in a cornfield. The grain is an expression of the principle of abundance and multiplication: Through growth and ripening, numerous grains emerge from one grain and give us nourishment. I created the light of the background with several photos of sunrises. It shines through the figure of the Mother and merges with her.

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.

With the Lunar Messenger for Leo, there are now 22 years of composing each month a text on the basis of the wisdom teachings mainly of Master EK, E. Krishnamacharya, and Master KPK, Sri Kumar. It is surprising to look back about the variety of topics which came. I feel that the inspirations are coming from a subtle source.

For the “Lunar Messenger” for Leo full moon, I chose the topic of “The 12 Adityas”, see also here. And I would like to let you know how this topic grew.

Over the years, this topic was touched in several Lunar Messengers, but not in greater depth. And it appeared also in various paintings, like the one on “Aditi – the Mother of Light and the Birth of the Twelve Lights”, the 12 Adityas, from 11 September 2011.

Since more than a year, Sri Kumar has been teaching in his online classes about Aditi, the cosmic consciousness, expressing through 12 qualities of the cosmic person, the 12 Adityas, and the way the spiritual Light comes down over different levels up to us, the human being. And in the beginning he said:

“A man who is just mind oriented gathers things, develops some concepts which are confusing, and then confuses others with their expressions.”
And: “Knowledge can be assimilated only when practices are carried out, and all assimilation happens in the buddhic plane, and the mind when it is more and more in association with the buddhic plane only wisdom is retained, not otherwise.”

Although I rediscovered these sentences only now, it is this, which has touched me since a long time. I have listened to all the lectures but was it more than assimilating mental concepts? What did I understand about the Aditya, the cosmic sun?? And the Adityas? I felt – nearly nothing, and the teachings were like escaping from my mind, from my understanding.

I pondered on, What does it have to do with me? How do I use the teachings for self-transformation? How can I integrate something in my life?

Daily in the morning, after some asanas and before meditation, I have been working with certain visualisations to relate to some of the cosmic dimensions and impregnate / align myself.

So, the last weeks, I chose the topic of the 12 Adityas for the Lunar Messenger Leo, which is related to the Sun on the different planes of creation.

I worked on what the Master had said about “Aditya”, collecting all the relevant mentions of the 12 Adityas from transcriptions and books – a big text collection, grouped it, pondered on it to bring the essence down to my understanding and, in text form, to the size of the Lunar Messenger. This helped me very much to gain more clarity.

I was thrilled feeling a cosmic dimension of astrology and of the sources of the zodiac developing like an inkling beyond the mind’s horizon.

I integrated the 12 Adityas into my daily visualisations. It helps me to open a door to a deeper understanding, growing slowly like a flower. And maybe also giving a little deeper understanding of Sri Kumar’s teachings of the last 12 months.

So, may this Lunar Messenger Leo, which has just come out today, be of some help for others as well.

Leo is a fire sign; together with Aries and Sagittarius it transmits the different qualities of the fire of the soul. Astrologically, Leo is governed by the Sun, which is “at home” in this sign. In this month, we can link especially well with the colour of golden light to the power of the inner Sun in the heart centre. On the outside, the Leo energy appears to be gentle, but on the inside, it is a fiery force. The heart is the seat of the Hierarchy, and the rapprochement of the Hierarchy with humanity is through Leo.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Leo illustrate the related symbolism. You find there detailed explanations of the paintings in four languages (en/de/es/fr). And you can download print-versions (high resolution) for free. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter.

When pondering on which new image for Leo might develop, I contemplated on the inner vertical alignment from the heart to the head centre and its planetary correspondence: As there is an individual head centre, the Sahasrara, there is also a Sahasrara of the Earth called Shambala.

The innermost point of the head centre is called the Jewel in the Lotus. And there is a corresponding jewel at the innermost point of the planetary head centre called Chintamani (see the painting on “The White Island“). Both gems are referred to with the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM.

The image of two wheels forming the number 8 showed up in contemplation. I formed each wheel with the help of the symbol used on the cover of the book “The Teachings of Sanat Kumara” by Dr K. Parvathi Kumar. The graphic contains eight sections. I placed a miniature form of the symbol into the centre of each wheel as the jewel in the lotus. For visualising Sanat Kumara, the lord of Shambala, I reworked the photo of an old Bodhisattva bust, probably of Lord Maitreya, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I arranged the centre of the upper wheel as the Sahasrara of Sanat Kumara; the lower wheel leads downward from his Ajna centre, a star forming the contact point. In the centre of the lower wheel there is an image of the earth showing the Eastern hemisphere. I finally worked on the colours of the structure to give expression to the circulation of the energies.

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.

During my visit to friends in Heiligenberg (Holy Mountain) near Lake Constance (see the previous blogpost) Sabine and I went to the town of Überlingen last Sunday morning to see the “Sweden procession“. It is a tradition which started at the end of the Thirty Years’ War: In 1634, the citizens could successfully repel a besiegement of the Swedes which attacked the town over two years. In gratitude for this success, the citizens made a vow to hold twice a year a “Sweden procession”, where after a church service the “Sweden Madonna”, a figure of Mary gilded in silver in 1659, is carried on shoulders by scouts through the town, together with a youth choir, altar boys and girls, and men and women dressed in the traditional costumes.

Memories came up: In my youth, feeling like aeons ago, I had participated in similar processions as an altar boy. I was now a tourist, an on-looker, touched by the ambiance of the spiritual orientation. The faces of the youngsters in the Sweden procession, dressed in white, were focused and full of devotion. I was astonished to see in the cortège people of all ages – also a lot of youngsters and middle-aged people. Sabine was greeting some she knew from her choir.

While we were walking along Lake Constance, she told me that in past times, there had been such processions at many places but modern life turned people away, so that nowadays there are only very few of such processions left.

The citizens of Überlingen, however, are very proud of their tradition and there is a strong social cohesion in the town. She knows of people who lived for longer time in other parts of Germany but felt lost there, and they came back to live and work in this area. You can feel this sense of togetherness in the town – and it could be seen in the “Sword Dance”, related to the Sweden procession, which was performed in the courtyard of Überlingen and in front of the archives an hour later.

It was short before noon – and for us time to prepare for the Health & Healing – Prayer we do on Thursday and Sunday noon time. We rushed through some streets of the old town to the “Garden of Silence” at the “SusoHaus“, which might have been the birth place of Henry Suso (Heinrich Seuse), a mediaeval Dominican friar and mystic (1295-1366). In 2007, an association “New Mysticism in Dialogue” was founded to fill the house with life by transferring Heinrich Seuse’s spiritual impulses into our time and make them fruitful for people today. The house was renovated and now, visitors have the opportunity to become creatively active in writing, making music, philosophising, meditating and, above all, in dialogue with others in the sense of their own lives. (translated from their website)

The “Garden of Silence” at the SusoHaus is freely accessible at all times, and sitting there, under flowers, was an excellent place for our Health & Healing meditation.

A week ago, I was in Heiligenberg (Holy Mountain), South Germany, near Lake Constance visiting Manfred and Sabine for 5 days. It was a precious time with these two friends filled with exchanges, meditations, little excursions and relaxing in their beautiful garden. Manfred has created a little paradise with many roses and other flowers, trees, and bushes with plenty of red and black currants, raspberries and blackberries at the moment – delicious…

In the first evening, Manfred took me up to the forest near the castle where there are two natural burial sites and we spoke about our “transition planning”. In Germany, there are only such places where you can bury the urns outside traditional cemeteries – in Switzerland, it is allowed to give the ash into lakes, rivers, or places in nature.

We then followed a path along the cliffs, which had been only recently re-opened after a longer renovation. It lead to the “friendship cave”, a natural cave, where some centuries ago castle servants were living.

Next morning, Sabine took me to Meersburg on Lake Constance. We walked through the old town and the new castle. There, we saw a statue of the German poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797-1848), who lived for eight years in Meersburg.

We then visited the Prince’s House, which Annette had purchased to live there, with a gorgeous view over the lake. Now, it is a museum dedicated to this first well-known German poetess.

It was very special for me: Already in school, we learnt some of Annette’s poems by heart and read texts. About 40 years ago, a dear friend of mine wrote his PhD about the chronology of her life for the historical-critical complete edition of her works. I was jobless at that time and he gave me his work for typing; thus, I knew many details about Annette. My friend then arranged that I became a museum guide at the Rüschhaus near Münster, North Germany, where Annette had previously lived. Now, in the Prince’s House, there were several pictures of this other house.

Afterwards, we visited the Meersburg cemetery where Annette is buried. We also wanted to see the grave of another famous person, Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815), who studied “animal magnetism”. He was hypnotizing people and healing with his hands – of course, much disputed and considered “imagination” by the mainstream physicians and scientists.

We spent the afternoon in the garden, and in the evening, we went to a small theatre in an old basement vault in Überlingen. The “Noltes Theater” presented “Summer Night Rapture”, a poetic performance with songs, jazz and blues music – full of linguistic wit, furious piano playing, and enthusiasm for theatre.