The Festival of Capricorn New York, January 4, 2015 Kathy Newburn

The Festival of Capricorn New York, January 4, 2015 Kathy Newburn Tonight we work with the energies of the constellation Capricorn. And we have a powerful opportunity to do so because the exact time of the full moon, which is of most importance, occurs at 11:54 pm this evening and so we are well within the full tide of the inflowing energies of this great sign of initiation, the sign of the mountain top; the sign of light. Let us begin with a moment of silence to link with all the other individuals and groups throughout the world, creating a vast network of light. The Affirmation of the Disciple I am a point of light within a greater Light. I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of love divine. I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focused within the fiery Will of God. I am a way by which men may achieve. I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand. I am a beam of light, shining upon their way. And standing thus, revolve And tread this way the ways of men, and know the ways of God. OM This mantram is very ancient, given to us by the Tibetan, and has been used for aeons by disciples and disciples-in-training. It s given to us to affirm our commitment to tread this path. It has a number of references to the sign under consideration tonight, the sign of Capricorn. The first line states, I am a point of light within a greater Light. If you study the symbolism underlying the sign Capricorn you will see that it, too, has reference to two different types of light one light that is needed to climb the mountain and serves as a type of searchlight to dispel the mists and glamours of illusion that prohibits us from seeing things clearly. So as we move up the mountain we use that searchlight to dissipate the clouds and then as we reach the summit another light is seen, sometimes called the light of the rising sun. At other times, as in the keynote for this sign, it is referred to as the light supernal, a type of light related to the will aspect, an internal, ethereal and very special type of light. This mantram also speaks of standing And thus I stand --which relates to the planet Saturn, the ruling planet both exoterically and esoterically of Capricorn. As we begin to appropriate the energy of Saturn, we no longer travel up and down the land (as an ancient teaching states) and instead become fixed and steady. The teaching continues, I will determine for myself the way to go. Then onward I will move. I will not travel up and down the land nor turn in space. But onward I will move. The 1

final line of the mantram relates to a theme of Capricorn contained within its keynote, Lost am I in Light Supernal, yet on that Light I turn my back. The mantram ends with the line, And standing thus revolve, and tread this way the ways of men and know the ways of God. We stand with our consciousness focused within the fiery will of God but we revolve and face the other way. The disciple in this sign forgoes the path of mysticism, he revolves and leaves the light and enters into the service of humanity and the Plan. This is a sign of the occultist, of those who appropriate the light and use it in service of the Plan and humanity. Sometimes when we look around the world today it s easy to become somewhat faint-hearted with all the many problems confronting us as a kingdom. Our planet seems to be in the midst of a time when many things are breaking down and sometimes this might negatively affect us. But the Tibetan teacher who wrote the books with Alice Bailey said that this breaking down, this sense that everything is falling part, is actually the clearest indicator that we are approaching the time of the externalization of the Hierarchy and the subsequent reappearance of the World Teacher. This relates to that ancient mantram from The Bhagavad Gita that states that Whenever there is a withering of the law and an uprising of lawlessness on all sides.then I manifest Myself I come forth from age to age. This is what is happening now. This is why there is so much breakdown and despair and so we have to be strong in the midst of all of it and recognize that this situation is actually a positive sign. It s also said in the teachings that humanity has reached a point in its evolutionary development that is well ahead of that which was expected at this point. In fact we're told we are 2300 years ahead of schedule. The developments that are manifesting within humanity at this time were not expected until the Age of Capricorn. We should take note of that and be of good cheer. Humanity is undergoing a spiritual renaissance. We are opening up to the light. Humanity as a whole is incredibly invocative and that as a result of that invocation we have evoked the spiritual will. And that's why we see so many changes within the human kingdom at this time as we respond to the will aspect standing together and demanding change. Capricorn is a sign of the will, of relationship with Shamballa. This light supernal is only found upon the mountain top and this relates to the first aspect. The changes in our world are primarily due to the impacts from Shamballa, the highest head center of our planet. It's said that in the long history of life on our planet, prior to 1945, there were only two impacts from this centre, one in ancient Lemuria and the other at the end of the Atlantean civilization. There were only two impacts in 18.5 million years. But now in the past 70 years there have been three impacts from Shamballa and these impacts are one of the major reasons for the shift in consciousness within our world. Some expect there may well be another Shamballa impact in the year 2025, a short ten years away. These ten years also coincide with the last ten years in the Stage of the Forerunner, a short time indeed for humanity to take the necessary steps to bring about the necessary changes in our civilization to prepare for the reappearance of the World Teacher. In the year 2025 there will be a great conclave within the Hierarchy wherein a decision will be made as to the timing of the coming externalization and the reappearance. Impacts from Shamballa work out primarily by breaking down barriers, the artificial barriers that exist between members of the human family the barriers that exist along the lines of race, sex, religion, and economic class. These are artificial divisions and the impacts from Shamballa break them down 2

and allow for a more synthetic flow of energy between the races, between the classes and between the religions of the world. And we can see this happening although sometimes we get caught up in the challenges of the process such as the recent events in Ferguson, New York city and other places. In one sense we might say these events are related to the attempt upon the part of humanity to see no difference --one of the effects of the impacts from Shamballa, to see that these artificial barriers are really an illusion. So people in large numbers are standing up to say things need to change and hopefully they will change. Another indicator of someone who is working to break down barriers and who is consequently perhaps responsive to the Shamballa impact would of course be Pope Francis. He made his intentions clear right from the start with the choice of his name. Through this choice he stated he would use the voice of the Papacy to stand up for the poor, for those who are marginalized. In March or April he is releasing an encyclical in support of climate change, trying to build momentum towards the UN Climate Summit that will take place in Paris next December. This is the major climate summit wherein the member states will come together to draft and hopefully ratify a new climate treaty. Francis is hoping the encyclical will galvanize support for this treaty among Catholics the world over as well as among people of all faiths. There's an interesting passage in the teachings in the archives of the Masters which we're told describes the period in which are now living. This time is known as...a time of rending, when the mountains which have sheltered fall from their high places and the voices of men are lost in the crash and thunder of the fall. A time of rending is a time when things are torn apart. The mountains could relate to the mountain load of karma that has been accrued by those of materialistic intent which are now beginning to crack under their own weight. Some people have the sense there could be a crash of these old, outworn structures. And perhaps the voices that will be lost in the crash and thunder of the fall could be the voices of lying, fear and manipulation that are so prevalent in our media today. This process of change and dissipation of world glamour will enable people to see things more clearly and symbolically speaking this will come about through the work of the World Teacher and his 9,000 initiates. We re told in the teaching that this group of people who are assembling now will strike a collective blow to world glamour that will effectively prepare the way for the changes necessary in our civilization. When we consider the topic of initiation we re told it is important to attempt to understand where we stand upon the path of initiation. From observation and experienceit would seem it is not so easy to know this with any accuracy where we stand. The problem in our perceptions stems in part from what we re told happened during the last century as a result of the two world wars. During that time there was such a powerful release of sound that it pierced the etheric web that separates the astral plane and the physical plane. As a result since that time there has been a tremendous inpouring of light from the astral plane into humanity. In some ways this is good, it has opened our minds and hearts and made us more receptive to the spiritual life. But in other way it has caused distortions in our abilities to see things clearly and so the Tibetan asks those of us who are on the spiritual path to effect an alignment in consciousness wherein we can collectively pierce through the veils of maya and enter into 3

the light of the ashram and bring down that light of the intuition that can clear away the fogs and mists of the astral plane and allow us to see things more clearly. I wanted to say a few words about a rule that is part of the Fourteen Rules for Disciples and Initiates which were given out by the Master DK in the final book that he wrote with Alice Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations. He says that these rules have been used by disciples and initiates throughout time in order to come to a deeper understanding of the meaning of initiation. It s said the most effective way to understand that path is through the study of these fourteen rules. I wanted to focus briefly on the first rule because it speaks to themes related to Capricorn and the third initiation of the Transfiguration. It s an initiation that most of us know little about. But the Tibetan gives us a lot of information about this initiation so that one day when we are approaching that momentous point in human evolutionary development we can be somewhat prepared. The rule goes like this, Within the fire of mind, focussed within the head s clear light, let the group stand. The burning ground has done its work. The clear, cold light shines forth and cold it is and yet the heat evoked by the group love permits the warmth of energetic moving out. Behind the group there stands the door. Before them opens out the way. Together let the band of brothers onward move--out of the fire, into the cold and toward a newer tension. As mentioned, this rule is related to the passing through the third gate. So it behooves us to ponder the words. It starts with the firm affirmation, Within the fire of mind, focused within the head s clear light let the group stand. This rule is said to give the key to group initiation so this third initiation can only be undertaken by a small group. Initiation is an inner plane experience that is not necessarily related to gathering together on the physical plane. It s related to a small group coming together with a mental focus and using the light of the intuition to dissipate the fogs and mists that impede the ability to see clearly and then the group can begin to move forward. The rule speaks of the burning ground and its being left behind. We know, therefore, that this rule relates to the third initiation because at that time the burning ground experience is left behind. The burning ground experience precedes each of the first three initiations and after that time those experiences are overcome. The burning ground makes possible the necessary changes within consciousness needed to pass through the initiation. It s said we must stand at the center of the burning ground and feel the burning, purifying, destructive inflow of the spiritual will. As we stand within the center of the evenarmed cross we feel the impact of that will bearing down. This burning ground experience burns away the impediments to progress. It s said that each burning ground is colder and clearer than the preceding one. And each burning ground brings tests that become more difficult for the seeker upon the way. The fires of the burning ground destroy the loves and the desires of the personality,the nonessential aspects of our being. The seeker on the way is also subjected, as our rule states, to the clear cold light. The individual begins, through this clear, cold light to see and sense possibilities that he never sensed before. The 4

Tibetan says this, too, is a test. He enters into the stream and past, present and future begin to be seen as one. He gains a vision, we are told, of the golden sphere that holds in unison all the many evolutions of our system. And yet it s said the sense of loss engendered is agonizing as the scales fall from the eyes. So although at one point while the person experiencing this initiation is undergoing the unity of all life, at the same time they are beginning to see with greater clarity the depth of the work that needs to be done and the depth of the misery within the world and within themselves. And an agonizing sense of aloneness descends. But it is said there is also a recognition that there is no other way to go, there is no turning back. The mantram ends with the ringing sense of joy and the words, Before them opens out the way. Together let the band of brothers onward move, out of the fire, into the cold and toward a newer tension. It s said that the Way of the Higher Evolution, of which nirvana is just the beginning is glimpsed at this third initiation, which must be a stupendous sight. The newer tension is of course related to the growing monadic influence that occurs with the taking of this third initiation and which we are told grows rapidly at this time the third and fourth initiations often being taken in a single lifetime the Tibetan tells us. So much of the loss here mentioned is more fully descriptive of the fourth initiation rather than the third. To gain a deeper understanding of this stage on the path we might ponder the experience of the Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Tibetan tells us that the real sorrow of the Christ was undergone in that garden, not on the cross. Yet he says that something new yet expected from the very depth of time occurred within that quiet garden. There was a sense that at that time the Christ tapped into the spiritual will and the thin, gossamer thread of the spiritual will was established. He did this in the name of humanity and it seems that that sacrifice of the Christ in that quiet garden has been the cause of the tremendous forward evolution of humanity. And so today we stand in a world where the Will-to-Good of Shamballa is flowing into the Hierarchy, the center of goodwill. As you and I and people of many faiths and no faith stand within the center of that Hierarchy, that Love, we, too, can become a channel whereby that energy of goodwill can flow out into the men and women of goodwill in the world. This is our major responsibility. Let us take the opportunity of this Capricorn full moon period to collectively extend the contours of our minds so that together we can perhaps find our way into Shamballa and together touch a fragment of the light supernal there to be found upon the mountain top remembering that the vision there attained can provide us with the ability to tap into that aspect of the Plan that it is our dharma, our responsibility, to unfold. Then, we must turn our backs upon that light, as it says in the keynote of our full moon work. That keynote states,.he who feels the urge to pass that way yet loves his brother on the darkened path revolves upon a pedestal of light and turns the other way. He faces towards the dark and then the seven points of light within himself transmit the outward streaming light. And, lo, the face of those upon the darkened way receives that light. For them the way is not so dark. Behind the warriors, twixt the light and dark, blazes the light of Hierarchy. * * * * 5