The commencement of the year is in Pisces and its tangible commencement is in Aries. Even while concluding the yearly cycle, Pisces prepares the seeds for manifestation of the new cycle.

The symbolism of Pisces is visualised in the twelve Pisces paintings of the Images of Synthesis series done between 2010 and 2021. See also: https://www.ludgerphilips.org/.

Some days ago, a friend and astrologer from Seattle sent me a photo of a letter of C.G. Jung from a correspondence with professor B.V. Raman, an Indian astrologer / editor from Bangalore dated September 6th 1947. I transformed the photo into a PDF for easier sharing.

In the letter, Jung does the following interesting statements:
“Since you want to know my opinion about astrology I can tell you that I’ve been interested in this particular activity of the human mind since more than 30 years. As I am a psychologist I am chiefly interested in the particular light the horoscope sheds on certain complications in the character. In cases of difficult psychological diagnosis I usually get a horoscope in order to have a further point of view from an entirely different angle. I must say that I very often fund that the astrological data elucidated certain points which I otherwise would have been unable to understand. From such experiences I formed the opinion that astrology is of particular interest to the psychologist, since it contains a sort of psychological experience which we call “projected” – this means that we find the psychological facts as it were in the constellations. This originally gave rise to the idea that these factors derive from the stars whereas they are merely in a relation to synchronicity with them. I admit that this is a very curious fact which throws peculiar light on the structure of the human mind.
What I miss in astrological literature is chiefly the statistical method by which certain fundamental facts could be scientifically established.

Hoping that this answer meets your request I remain
yours sincerely
C.G. Jung”

The letter reminds me of the explications Dr. E. Krishnamacharya (Master EK) in his book “Wisdom of the Heavens” (PDF), where he gives excellent explications on the nature of astrology. This might answer what Jung gives as missing in astrological literature about establishing certain fundamental facts statistically:

” ‘Is astrology a science or an art?’ You can further enquire. It is a science while learning and art while applying. It has the same position as that of medicine and law… Healing is an art though medicine is a science. Same is the case with astrology. … When a prescription fails to cure, when a legal advice fails to restore justice, or when a prediction fails to come true, the fault is in the practitioner but not in the science… Man can foresee that there will be a sunrise tomorrow and if he does not kill himself in the name of religion or politics. Such experience forms the basis for the Wisdom of the Heavens. Whenever the basis is illumined by the sacred lamp of pure perception through the torch of quest, there is the development of the astrological science. Through this wisdom, man can foresee the will of his Creator and await His command… We prefer to follow such sciences. We read the symbols of this science and interpret in terms of man’s tendencies, seeds, reactions and results. We teach what we know. We interpret what we see. If man were to talk to His Father it is through the vault of Heavens. The wisdom of the stars should be the language… Astrology is the true key of spiritual wisdom which we call the ‘Science of Man’.”

The Earth has a Hierarchy of Teachers popularly known as the White Brotherhood. The head of the Hierarchy is called the World Teacher. The World Teacher in the present cycle is known as Lord Maitreya. The word “Maitreya” comes from the Sanskrit root “Mitra”, meaning friend. Maitreya is a sage of great brilliance; his teachings are of synthesis, unity of existence, and love and wisdom.

Though little known, the Indian Puranas contain information about him. The Vishnu Purana is a question-answer session between Parasara, the teacher and the student, Maitreya. Maitreya received the wisdom under a ficus (fig) tree at the eastern entrance to a cave which is said to be at Sravasti, in a region north of Mount Kailash. It is today called Shigatse by the Tibetans. It is believed that the ficus tree is still there even today and that he continues to bless the entire planet and humanity during the morning and evening hours.

To visualise this scene, I used a photo of a ficus tree at the Sun temple of Konark, India. I created the figure of Maitreya by fusing an extract from the painting “Transfiguration” by Fra Angelico and a picture of the head of Maitreya. The background was designed with elements of photos of the Himalayas and the Alps and of a sunrise taken during a flight over India.

The symbolism of Pisces is visualised in the twelve Pisces paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

Since 1.5 years, I am collaborating with the ANIMA project. ANIMA is a non-profit communication channel aiming to share contents that may uplift our consciousness and raise our vibration. You find here a blogpost about the Spanish launch in August 2020. And this blogpost is now about the launch of the new English branch of activities.

Once a month, I meet with the core team of Anima for discussing strategic questions and the development of the project. It is a small but extremely dedicated team doing all activities as volunteer activities in a highly professional way, and with a tremendous output of communication activities, mainly via YouTube videos. And they are doing a great networking including many different helpers (in case, you would like to help them, you can contact them via the link). I like very much the lively exchanges bringing in plenty of good ideas allowing also me to reflect on the work I am doing in the context of WTT and Circle of Good Will.

Some months ago, the team decided to step up their activities and produce also material in English. So, they adapted their website and created the ANIMA Channel. Recently, they opened an English-Only channel on YouTube.

They have already produced quite a number of English short videos about different topics related to living spirituality in daily life and right living. Have a look and subscribe to their channel or one of their playlists.

Not directly related to ANIMA, but going into the same direction of uplifting consciousness: This morning, I received a mailing about the launch of “Children in the light”, a new activity organised by Latin American sisters and brothers, through Zoom, in Spanish, starting today, Saturday 5 February, at 19:00 (Europe) via Zoom. Join : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85617974333. Zoom ID: 856 1797 4333, Code: om.

When composing the new Lunar Messenger of the symbolism series on the symbolism of the monkey, for the Aquarius newsletter (still unpublished), I discovered that there is a profound difference between the Western and the Eastern understanding of the famous symbolic representation of the three monkeys:

While the three monkeys today in the West usually stand for “not wanting to see, hear or say anything” in order to ignore unpleasant things, in the East they symbolise three wise monkeys:

One monkey has his eyes covered, thus showing “I do not see the unimportant”. Another monkey covers his ears: “I do not listen to the unessential”. The third monkey covers his mouth: “I do not speak or eat unnecessarily”. These are instructions to be applied by a disciple of the Master’s precepts. In this way we prevent undesirable things and diseases from entering us.

When searching photos of the symbol for a future video on the three monkeys, I came across the following photo of the Indian Prime Minister Modi presenting the gift of a copy of statues of the three monkeys to the then US-president Trump and his wife Melania on 24 February 2020. The statues are in the garden of the Mahatma Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, India.

The photo with these three persons and the three monkeys, chosen as a gift from India to America, is highly symbolic of the much-needed “fusion of the wisdom of the East and the strength of the West” to overcome the global antagonisms. “East” and “West” do not mean locations on the planet but “material” and “spiritual”. There is much “west” in the “East” and much “east” in the “West”.

Friends sent me this morning the information that today a great one has passed over: Thích Nhất Hạnh. The Buddhist monk left his body at the age of 95 (1926 – 2022) in Vietnam. In the 60s, he had been a leading voice in the opposition to the Vietnam war. and later had impacted the lives of millions of people. Here you can read about his life story.

I heard about Thich already many years ago, and consciously in the 90s through Buddhists among the Vietnamese refugees for whom I worked for 11 years. They had fled from Vietnam during the second wave exodus, and Switzerland had taken particularly vulnerable people from East Asian refugee camps. I met a lot of Vietnamese refugees, first in the integration centre for recognised refugees where I was teaching German language and first integration, and later as a head of “An Lac”, in the 90s a psycho-social meeting and counselling centre for South-East Asian refugees. Some of them deeply venerated Thich and spoke to me about his importance and a bit about their Buddhist life.

I never felt drawn to Buddhism but I was deeply impressed about the life and message of Thich, which largely is of a universal nature. He has taught mindfulness and right attitude towards life in a profound way. There are centres around the world, a central one, Plum Village in France.

My friend Robert from Spain sent me the following beautiful lines of Thich:

Oneness

The moment I die
I will try to come back to you
as quickly as possible.
I promise it will not take long.
Isn’t it true I am already with you,
as I die each moment?
I come back to you in every moment.
Just look, feel my presence.
If you want to cry, please cry.
And know that I will cry with you.
The tears you shed will heal us both.
Your tears are mine.

Group energy is of great help for our spiritual progress. In a group meditation there develops a flow of energy. We are recharged and we can more easily experience a higher consciousness and a greater presence of spirit.

The energies always flow from the higher to the lower. The sun rays are streaming from the Sun to the Earth. The higher energies work through us when we feel the needs of others and respond to them. These energies strengthen the group consciousness, and they help manifest acts of goodwill in the world. Group work brings the inner light to the outside and intensifies the connection to the higher circles.

To illustrate this cooperation, I arranged in the lower part of the picture a group gathered around a table by joining pictures of two different groups. For visualising the influx of higher energies, I used a photo of a dahlia, elements of a picture of the earth, created with the software WorldWind.earth, as well as a picture of a star in the upper part of the picture. I designed the downpour of light with photos of a glass crystal held in front of a lamp. The light of the star shines through the earth globe and is reflected in the hearts of the group members.

The symbolism of Aquarius is visualised in the twelve Aquarius paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

The horse is a profound spiritual symbol carrying various dimensions. This week, I did a video presentation about this symbolism of the horse. It was the topic of last month’s Lunar Messenger for Sagittarius (PDF), the text is also here on the WTT website.

The video was done with a layout developed for the Friends of the World Teacher Trust, and it was also published on the Friends of WTT YouTube channel. You can download the paintings used in the video on my website ludgerphilips.org. There is also a German and a French version of the video.

Watch the video to learn more about the sublime symbol of the Horse.

Today 111 years ago, Master CVV initiated the annual December Call celebrations. He established two annual celebrations as days for group initiation – the “Master May Call Day” on 29 May 1910, and the “Master December Call Day” on 29 December 1910. These gatherings are meant for lifting up those who align to it to the awareness of the energy of synthesis, also called the Avatar of Synthesis. The December Call is to strengthen the inner light so that we eliminate the undesirable in us, strengthen the seeds and eliminate the weeds. This leads to an expansion of consciousness and the related deeper understanding.

The energy of synthesis is much better expressed when we relate to the Master energy in a groupal manner. The impact has become global, and now the December Call is also celebrated at many places all over the globe. We just have group meetings where the presence of the energy is clearly felt. This group linking through virtual global meetings is speeding up the development, in all facets of life a spiritual value is added, while outwardly we are going through very peculiar times – times of profound transformation.

Capricorn, tenth sign of the zodiac, is called “the mountain”. It is the mountain of initiation, a symbol of the spiritual quest of the personality to unite with the light of the soul. After climbing to the peak and absorbing the “light supernal”, the initiate returns to assist those who are captive in matter. Capricorn represents the dawn of the year. The golden rays of the morning sun, the winter solstice sun, pour forth a spiritual light and activity that help the souls free themselves from matter and rise up again.

The energy of Capricorn supports the development of the golden etheric body and also the diamond causal body. In mythology they are represented as golden and diamond dragons. Since ancient times, high beings have lived on earth called Nagas in spiritual wisdom. They are sacred serpents or dragons holding the light of wisdom. Like serpents, they live in hidden caves in the mountain regions. The Nagas can be regarded as embodiments of the Kundalini energy. They are the ascending serpents and are radiant and divine by nature. The descending serpents are represented as black and are poisonous by nature. The Nagas do a lot of good for humanity. Some of them are also said to be able to fly.

For the illustration of the Dragon of Wisdom, I photographed a dragon statue in a Tai Chi centre in Hamburg. The mountain in the background was designed with a photograph of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Andes, which a pilot friend, flying over, had photographed. The essence of wisdom streaming down from the sun enters and illuminates the dragon. In his hand he holds a golden glowing orb, symbol of the gift of wisdom for humanity.

The symbolism of Capricorn is visualised in the twelve Capricorn paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.