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That it is a perfect instance of organic metabolism everybody must admit. Exactly similar cases are difficult to find, and in effect Dr. Ash, who undertook the study of the case after the cure had been performed, is thereby able to give us a most interesting account of what he regards as a unique medical experience. The Lourdes miracles are, as far as I know, all of a nervous character. They pertain to cases where functional disorders arise from nervous corrosion without lesion. Even where there is lesion there may come a time when nervous contact is complete and an instantaneous cure is possible. But in the present case we have deep-seated organic disease of a chronic nature, the existence of morbid tissue and whole tracts of the lungs ruined by the action of noxious germs. So far as our experience goes it would seem that the term "miraculous intervention" fits this case as well as any other that can be offered, and certainly better than many that have been applied to it. It is an old and well-worn term, of a sort to vex the scoffer, but when it comes to a matter of sticking on labels to cover our ignorance of methods, we can at least count upon the willing aid of modern science.

In old times, when the teachings of Hippocrates were more in vogue than at this date, when Aristotle and Galen and Ibn Sina and Paracelsus made their contributions to contemporary medical science, it was the custom to regard man in terms of the cosmos. They classified all disorders in a comprehensive manner as accidental or incidental, as acute or chronic, as functional or organic. The functional powers were governed by the Moon, the organic constitution by the Sun. Accidental and acute ailments were ascribed to the action of Mars, incidental and chronic disorders to Saturn. Mars was responsible for all inflammatory action and fevers, while Saturn was the cause of all morbid diseases and loss of vitality. It was only a question of the distribution of the vital principle in man, and this, originating in the Sun and regulated by the Moon, induced fevers when in excess and morbid disease when deficient in any organ of the body. Jupiter was the great healer and arbiter of destiny, and it was his aid that the physician invoked when at the head of his prescription he wrote the symbol ?--Help, O Jupiter!

I have just been speaking of cancer as a morbid disease. It was known to the ancients and by them named after that sign of the zodiac which responds to the zone most frequently affected by the disease, namely, the breast and stomach. It has already been shown that Saturn was accounted the chief cause of disease. Napoleon Buonaparte died of cancer, and at his birth we find Saturn in the sign Cancer in opposition to the Moon. On the principle that one swallow does not make a summer, I leave the observation for what it may be worth, but it is satisfactory if we can recognize a swallow when we see it. We are on the way to distinguish between martins and swifts, and between house and sand martins, and thus forefended from building our house upon the sand. For although Occultism deals with an order of facts outside the normal range of orthodox science its methods are equally scientific, both analytical and constructive. If we take the horoscopes of a number of persons whose fatal illness was of the same nature and compare them, we shall find a factor that is common to them all. The existence of this factor in the horoscope of a living person is a presumptive argument for "tendency" to the same disease. If in event that person develops the particular malady indicated by the horoscope, we have at once a scientific basis for a system of astro-therapy and a valid means of prognosis.

Assuming that the astrologers have been as busy in their special department of research as have the representatives of other branches of learning in theirs, it may reasonably be expected that with an equal body of tradition behind them and an equal field of experimental research before them, they have arrived at conclusions of which they are as sure as any scientific man can be in regard to any matter. To ignore their statements or to disparage them without test appears to me to be wholly prejudicial to the interests of truth and most likely to reflect upon the scientific integrity of those who pursue either course, for as the old philosopher says: "Where confidence is lacking it is not met by trust."

In regard to the faculty of auto-suggestion in connection with psychotherapy; it has been suggested that this faculty depends on the activity of the subconscious sphere of the mind. It is seen that all action is either purposive or automatic. All purposive action tends to become habitual, and to the extent that it becomes so, it passes from the region of mind-control into the subconscious region where it is capable of itself controlling the mind. We then recognize what is called the "force of habit." But it is further suggested that the activity of the subconscious part of the mind-sphere is at its maximum when we are asleep, whether natural or hypnotic. Certainly it is a fact that at a particular stage in hypnosis the subject passes out of the power of the hypnotist to control and assumes an activity of mental function which is remarkable both as to range and precision. But the facts seem to suggest something more than mere automatism, for while the patient remains subject to suggestion there is evidence of something more than the discharge of accumulated impressions. The subject is not found to be blundering about in the lumber-room of the mind, searching for odd bits of stuff that will answer the purpose in view, but is seen to exhibit direct perception of things as they are, the power to traverse space and to annihilate time, and to come into voluntary and conscious relations with the past and the future as if they coexisted and had a present reality. Many cases are on record. A single well-attested case would have sufficed.

A correspondent sends me the following certified experiences of psychic self-projection--

"When I visited her on Saturday she said: 'About 3 a.m. last Tuesday I wished you in your own home; I slept in the spare room that night for a change, and could not sleep; I felt you and my mother were downstairs, and distinctly saw you both come into the room. You went straight to the window, parted the curtains with your hands, and looked out, then turned your head and looked surprised to see me in the bed and walked out of the room.'"

Now, I had said nothing about my "psychic visit." Yet in every detail it was authenticated at the other end!

She also said: "I had a curious feeling when I awoke this morning that your presence had been in my room during the night."

There is one star above all others which periodically sheds its light upon the world, but about which very little is known, and on the occult significance of which little or no light has been hitherto shed. I refer to what is popularly, and as I shall show, correctly known as the Star of Bethlehem.

I propose to bring the facts into review with the intention of finally establishing the place of this star in cosmical symbology, and also of showing its connection with the central fact of the Christian religion--the Nativity.

The Star is due to make its appearance during the present century, but at what precise date cannot be determined, owing to lack of data. It was seen in the year 945, again in 1264, and by Tycho in 1572, and after becoming visible in the daytime, so great was its lustre, it gradually faded away and disappeared. Sir J. Herschel thought from these facts, that it would reappear in 1872, but such was not the case. The appearance of a large luminous star in Perseus at the beginning of this century led to the belief that it was the long-expected visitant. The body, which was named Nova Persei, was eventually considered by astronomers to be a centre of disruption, on account of its sudden flaring up and disappearance. It may have been this or a collision of two telescopic stars. Tycho tells us that the Star gradually grew in luminosity until it outshone Sirius and even Venus, and as gradually disappeared. This seems to suggest a star of great eccentricity and vast orbit, whose major axis is at right angles to the sphere of visibility, so that it appears to us "end on." It would thus grow and gradually disappear, without any sensible alteration of its position in the heavens, as here depicted--

It is of interest to note that mythology connects the Star with Cassiopeia, Andromeda her daughter, and Perseus the husband of Andromeda. These three constellations are in close proximity to one another in the heavens; together with Cepheus, the husband of Cassiopeia and father of Andromeda.

The Star appeared above "the head of Andromeda," according to Tycho, which would give it about 32? of N. declination, and thus make its appearance vertical to the latitude of Bethlehem in Judea. The sign of the zodiac coinciding with its longitude would thus be Aries, which according to Ptolemy rules over Judea. It is the Oriental sign and stands in relation to the cardinal points thus--

The Sun being 7? 34? from the Node, the extent of the eclipse would be nearly five digits, and the Moon would be about two-thirds down the western sky and in the south-west quarter of the heavens. It is of interest also to note that the Moon was eclipsed in the sign Virgo, which the ancients say rules Jerusalem, where Herod the Tetrarch died.

In the R.C. Festes we are told that the death of Herod took place before the Passover and after the eclipse of 13th March, so that the date appears to be very well established.

Eclipse of the Moon, March 13, 3 B.C.

From Epoch New Moon March 1797

Luke also gives confirmatory evidence, and the account is very circumstantial. The Evangelist mentions Tiberius Caesar by name, and also the Governors of the Provinces, as well as many dates. From him we learn that the Mother had good reason to be in or near Bethlehem at that time, because there was a registration or census under Augustus which was fixed for the First of Tishri, when the Jewish civil year commenced. In the same month was the feast of Tabernacles, an additional reason for the journey. Bethlehem was their objective, "because they were of the house and lineage of David," who was born at Bethlehem. Now the 1st Tishri would fall in that year on 19th September. At this time there would be "shepherds abiding in the fields by night," that being the hot season. The 25th December is, of course, an impossible date.

I now take my cue from the Apocalypse: "A woman clothed with the Sun and the Moon under her feet. And she brought forth the Man-child who should rule the nations with a rod of iron."

We have already seen that the full Moon of March fell on the 13th, and if to this we add the values for six lunations, we shall have the full Moon of September in the year 4 B.C., thus--

or Sept. 5, at 5.37 p.m. G.M.T.

This is equal to 7.58 p.m. at Jerusalem, and the position of the Sun informs us that there was an eclipse of the Moon of about 4 1/2 digits. The Sun would be in the middle of Virgo, and hence the woman would be literally "clothed with the Sun."

This Horus is the Man-child, ruled by Mars or Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and iron, the husband of Venus or Aphrodite.

Astrologically Mars is associated with the sign Aries, and under the rising of this sign the Nativity would take place, and with Aries rising the Sun would be below the western horizon and in opposition to the eclipsed Moon, the latter being conjoined with Uranus in Pisces, and the sign Aries with the constellation Andromeda, and the Star of Bethlehem in the orient. Saturn and Jupiter were then in close conjunction in the beginning of the sign Taurus, Mars just entered, into Leo, Mercury towards the end of that sign, Venus setting as an "evening star" in Libra 22?, and Neptune in the sign Scorpio.

Here we find Mars, the ruling planet in the sign Leo, ruling Judah, hence Jesus is referred to as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The prophecy of Jacob was that Judah should be as a lion crouching down. "A sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a law-giver from between his feet, until Shuleh come." This Shuleh is the name of the star Cor Scorpio on whose rising Leo declines from the position of meridian power. It is in accord with the universal symbology that here in the sign Scorpio we find the planet Neptune in the 8th division of the heavens, signifying "betrayal unto death." The Moon, ruler of the 4th House, conjoined with Uranus in the 12th House, in opposition to the Sun is an additional indication of an untimely end, and that on account of secret enmity. The sign Scorpio is associated with the principle of evil and is called the accursed sign. The tribe of Dan, to whose lot this division fell, substituted the symbol of its antiscion, Aquila, the eagle, on that account. Among the disciples it was connected with Judas Iscariot.

The universality of this incarnation has been frequently commented upon. The cosmical Man has employed the symbolism of the whole of the solar system as known to the ancients. Thus we have him referred to as--

Saturn--"A man of sorrows."

Mars--The sword bearer, "I came not to bring peace but a sword."

Sun--"The Day-star from on high."

Venus--"The Prince of Peace."

Mercury--"The Word," "The Messenger."

Jesus the Prophet and Master of Wisdom is of the order of those "whose goings forth are from of old." Some have seen in Him the reincarnation of the Buddha, whose ethical doctrine is strongly akin to the teachings of the holy Nazarene.

But there are strong reasons in the astrological scheme here presented, to warrant all Occultists in accepting the Incarnation in a sense other than symbolical or mythological. The prophecies and the record agree with the astronomical facts. Jesus is called especially "the Lamb of God," and is born under the rising of the sign Aries. He is called also the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah," and Mars, the ruler of the horoscope, is found in Leo. He is called "the Virgin-born," and we find the Sun at the Nativity in the sign of the Virgin. These positions are not accidental, but are in agreement with the particular state of the visible heavens at the epoch to which we are impelled by reference to the facts of the case in conformity with the historical record.

We have, I think, specific evidence of the Incarnation--of what? Of the Christ, the Logos, the Word. Jesus the man, whose horoscope we have been tracing, is not to be confounded with the Christ principle investing that Personality, nor yet with the Spirit of God animating the Christ. The relationship of these are apparently as Spirit, Soul and Body to one another, that is--

Wherever we can obtain the time of the incarnation of these Great Souls, it is seen that either there are some special celestial portents attending them or the planetary positions are such as to stamp the horoscope at once as that of an epoch-making birth. The portents attending the birth of Romulus, as recited by Dionysius, are no less striking than those which signalized his death. Something of this sort was obviously the belief in Shakespeare's time concerning the death of great men--

When beggars die there are no comets seen, The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of Princes.

From this we may conclude that the gods are not democratic, but favour individualism of the most pronounced type; and if, as would seem to be the case, the whole trend of evolution is the specialization of faculty, the elaboration of the unit from the mass, we can readily understand why specially selected cosmical conditions attend the incarnation of highly-evolved souls.

A consideration of great astronomical epochs naturally leads to the more comprehensive subject of Periodicity and the Law of Cycles. Some notes in my former works have raised special points of inquiry which may very well be dealt with in the present chapter.

Timocharis, B.C. 293, Spica observed in Virgo, 22? 20?

Hipparchus, " 145, " " " 24? 20?

Menelaus, A.D. 99, " " " 26? 15?

Ptolemy, " 139, " " " 26? 30?

Copernicus, " 1515, " " Libra, 17? 14?

" " 1525, " " " 17? 21?

Naut. Al., " 1820, " " " 21? 20?

As the whole Year consists of 25,920, during which the Equinoxes precess an entire circle, there will be a period of 2160 occupied in traversing one sign, that is to say, a twelfth part of the circle. Now this period is 72 periods of the planet Saturn, otherwise known as Kronos, the god of Time. From this again we derive the foundation of the great Yugas or Ages known to the Indians and referred to in the Vishnu Purana as the Four Ages, Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga. They correspond with the four ages known as the Gold, Silver, Copper and Iron ages. Thus--

At present the Vernal Equinox is at the very end of the constellation Aquarius, and there was a time when the equinox fell in the middle of Taurus, and the solstices in the middle of Leo and Aquarius respectively. Thus we find Varaha Mihira, an Indian astronomer of the fifth century, stating that in his day the solstices fell in Katakam , and Makaram , but that according to former shastras they were once in the middle of Aslesha and Kumbha respectively. This tells us that some two thousand years before Mihira's time there were Indian observations which determined the positions of the solstices among the asterisms, and it cannot have failed to strike Mihira that there was such a fact as Precession, even supposing that he had no knowledge of it from the Greek and Egyptian astronomers. It was about this time, namely 2000 B.C., that the Babylonian empire was at its height, and accordingly we find the astronomical facts written in all their records and built into their architecture. We find it in the Assyrian Bull and in the Egyptian Sphinx, wherein the four constellations which then held the cardinal points are found to be compounded. They comprise Taurus the Bull, Leo the Lion, Aquarius the Man, and Scorpio the Eagle.

In connection with the position of the Vernal Equinox in the constellations, there are a number of very interesting myths and symbols which form an essential part of Occultism. We find, for instance, that at the time when the equinox was in the constellation Taurus the worship of the Bull as a symbol was closely associated with the Spring festivals. The Egyptians at this time decked a white Bull with garlands of flowers and set a golden discus between his horns to represent the entry of the Sun into the constellation of the Bull. Later, when the signs of the zodiac became confused with the constellations by the fact of their coincidence, the same myths and ceremonies were transferred to the signs, and remained associated with them in the popular use. Hence the May Day festival, which had its origin with the Sun in the constellation Taurus at the Vernal Equinox, came to be associated with the entry of the Sun into the sign Taurus in the month of May.

What are called the Four Fixed Signs of the zodiac, those which enter into the composition of the Sphinx, are found to be in the forefront of national symbolism among the ancient Chinese. The four cardinal constellations are associated with the four colours, black, red, white and blue. The constellation of the Lion was called by them "the Black Warrior," Taurus was called "the Azure Dragon," Scorpio the "White Tiger" and Aquarius "the Red Bird." In the time of Wan Wang there was built a palace whose four walls were of these colours, and we find them represented in the heraldry of the Yellow Empire.

In both Egypt and Assyria we find the Bull used as a sacred symbol, even as it is to this day in India. There is a connection of a subtle nature between the Bull and the Bee--Apis. In the most ancient Mithraic monument of Assyria there is shown in bas-relief the figure of a lion out of whose mouth a bee is coming forth. This at once brings to mind the riddle of Samson, himself associated with the Solar myth. He is made to say: "Out of the eater came forth meat, out of the strong came forth sweetness." And when they gave him the answer: "What is stronger than a lion, what is sweeter than honey?" the key to the symbology is supplied in his answering words: "If you had not ploughed with my oxen , you had not found out my riddle." Here there is an obvious association of the symbol of the Bull with that of the Bee, and it is here that we get the affiliation of the two signs Taurus and Leo. A lion trampling on a snake and a bull in the folds of a snake are to be found among the symbolical monuments of the past. The lion-headed man, Abraxas, is a symbol which links the sign Aquarius to that of Leo, and is of great antiquity: among the Persians we find this word Abraxas or Abracax engraved on magical stones. It stands for the 365 days of the year and the virtues corresponding to them.

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