From the perspective of transits and directions we notice something of major importance: both instances involve Chiron – the sage and guide. Bach earned and confirmed his venerable reputation as a musical sage through this visit to the court and his performances there.
First we note that transiting Chiron is conjuncting the SAD Ascendant. Some say that one can only progress the Ascendant or direct it by ‘Ascendant Arc’. This assertion needs to be researched. We must simply point out the Chiron position relative to the SAD Ascendant and note its significance.
Secondly and more importantly, we note that the natal conjunction of Uranus and Chiron (being directed by approximately one degree a year since the birth) has finally reached the Ascendant. This aspect represents the fact that Bach, through his extraordinary compositional abilities, became the guide (Chiron) and inspiration (Uranus) for some of the greatest musicians of the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries (Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Brahms among them). Following this period, Bach demonstrated his genius (Uranus) in startling ways, with the composition of pieces before which the musicological world still stand in awe. It was as if hitherto undisclosed aspects of genius had been released just a few years before his death (three years later)
bb. It is further to be noted that the same solar eclipse which appeared at the death of Prince Leopold, signaling also at that time Bachs assumption of the responsible post of Director of the Collegium Musicum, appears again (and again conjuncts Saturn exactly) just as Bach is preparing for what have become some of the most highly regarded demonstrations of his consummate craft.
cc. Of Bach’s last illness little is known except that it lasted several months and prevented him from finishing The Art of the Fugue (a piece which may be considered the magnificent summation of his work). His constitution was undermined by two unsuccessful eye operations performed by John Taylor, the itinerant English quack who numbered Handel among his other failures. Johann Sebastian Bach died July 28, 1750, at Leipzig. Eclipses for the period are as follows:
Mon LEcl (X) Tr-Tr Jun 30 1749 NS 09:50 08°Cp33′ D
Sun SEcl (X) Tr-Tr Jul 14 1749 NS 13:00 22°Cn01′ D
Mon LEcl (X) Tr-Tr Dec 23 1749 NS 20:43 02°Cn15′ D
Sun SEcl (X) Tr-Tr Jan 8 1750 NS 18:28 18°Cp07′ D
Mon LEcl (X) Tr-Tr Jun 20 1750 NS 06:02 28°Sg18′ D
Sun SEcl (X) Tr-Tr Jul 4 1750 NS 03:39 11°Cn33′ D
Already in June of 1749, a musician anxious to replace Bach as Thomaskantor was actively seeking the position. The lunar eclipse for June conjuncts the Asc/Dsc axis. The solar eclipse of July 1749 is sufficiently conjunct both natal and progressed Pluto to be a negative augury. The lunar eclipse of December, 1749, also conjuncts the Asc/Dsc axis, suggesting the coming change. The solar eclipse of January, 1750, opposes his natal and progressed Pluto, reemphasizing the death theme as did the eclipse of July, 1749. The lunar eclipse of June, 1750 conjuncts quite exactly the progressing Nodal Axis, and the final solar eclipse before his death, conjuncts closely or widely, the Ascendant, SAD Uranus and Chiron, and, almost exactly (within one minute of arc!) the position of his progressed Moon at the time of death. It is often found that there is a significant solar eclipse before death.
Importantly, Pluto had been squaring the MC/IC axis, and at the time of death was closely square to that axis and to the natal Moon is Pisces and Neptune. The Ascendant and its rulers are involved in all maters of health. Jupiter, planet of release (frequently implicated in death) was transiting both his natal Uranus (ruler of the eighth house of death) and the progressing MC (which, itself, had progressed to an exact conjunction with natal Uranus at the time of his two unsuccessful eye operations, a few months before he died). Uranus here represents the ‘modern’ ocular science of the day, and the progressive ‘doctor’ who attempted the operation (probably for cataracts). With regard to Bach’s diminishing eyesight (probably aggravated by glaucoma – for Aries rules the head and the eyes), SAD Pluto had been opposing natal Mercury the year before his death. Mercury, we know, relates to sight and blindness. When the progressed Moon reached within a minute of arc of the solar eclipse in Cancer, Bach died of apoplexy (stroke) – a disease to which Aries individuals are prone.
dd. While it is clear that hindsight is always far more accurate than foresight, enough has probably been shown to demonstrate how the proposed astrological chart of J.S. Bach functioned in relation to major events and periods of his life. It is reasonable to consider this chart confirmed.
Astrological Factors of Note
a. The Ascendant in Cancer emphasized his historical perspective and contributed to the perception that he was ‘old fashioned’. He knew well the history of music (as much as it was possible to know in those days when research was so incomplete), and sought to unify and synthesize within himself various streams of influence from past, bringing them to consummation in his art.
b. The Sun in Aries, the sign of the Ram, gave him his remarkable fertility (both as a composer and a father). The Ram seeks to ‘fertilize all’. His wealth of musical ideas were as so many seeds dropped into the consciousness of his listeners.
c. The Moon in Pisces conferred his instinctive musicality, and (since it was conjunct Neptune) his gift for improvisation.
d. The sublime inspiration of which Bach was capable, indicated in large measure by his two conjunctions in Pisces, is a quality perfectly balanced by an austere Saturn in Virgo, demanding structural perfection.
e. The third ray is transmitted through Saturn (and this planet, in perfectionistic Virgo, may well serve as one of the points of expression for a multi-dimensional third ray mind). A mind such as Bach’s is hard to categorize under a single ray. One could reason that all rays made their contribution.
f. Saturn in Virgo is almost exactly opposed the midpoint or center of gravity of the four Piscean planets. One can think of no better combination to produce rapturous beauty in perfect form.
g. From a strictly mundane perspective, here was a man who, over the course of his life, fathered twenty children. One can only imagine how suitable is the placement of Saturn in Virgo in H4 to indicate the heavy, worldly burden of an over-crowded home with so many mouths to feed.
h. Esoterically, Saturn in one of the houses of the ‘Ashram’, tells of the great labor, Saturn, to serve (Virgo) by anchoring a piece of ashramic work (fourth house – and for the Fourth Ray Ashram).
i. The Cancer Ascendant, from a more mundane perspective, indicates the preoccupying importance of the home life. From an esoteric perspective, it tells of life’s demand that the inner genius manifest in form – as perfectly as possible (Saturn in Virgo).
j. The proposed chart, with Saturn in the fourth, also places abundant Jupiter in the fifth house, the house of creativity and, incidentally, of children. It seems a good position for a man who fathered twenty children. It seems a good position for a man who composed abundantly and prolifically (Jupiter opposing the Aries Sun, enlarging still further this creativity).
k. As for Mars in Sagittarius, it is conjunct Juno (telling us something about the ardor of Bach’s amorous nature), but, more potently, it is exactly trine his Aries Sun, giving abundant vitality and great zeal (sixth ray Mars in sixth ray Sagittarius) for his work (ruled by the sixth house in which Mars is placed.).
l. The exact Saturn/Mars square again speaks of the ‘hard labor’ (and opposition from authorities), the incredible toil required (again, Saturn in Virgo) to bring such beauty to birth. Perhaps Bach did not have to labor to ‘hear’ his music (just as Mozart did not), for all his Pisces planets gave him easy access to a great flow of musical inspiration. But to write it down, to copy it (and he was a dedicated copyist), to rehearse it, to perform it – often, no doubt, with those who could not do it justice – therein lay great labor. As well, there was certainly a conflict between the demands of work (sixth and tenth houses) and the demands of home (Saturn in Virgo)
m. That Bach was serving a great ashramic ideal is seen in his eleventh house Sun in Aries – for the eleventh house is, esoterically, the house of the Ashram – as a center of creativity. His impact on world culture through music (eleventh house) has been paralleled only by that of Beethoven and Mozart.
Examining the Possible Rays of Johann Sebastian Bach
a. Bach’s Soul Ray: What were the rays of Johann Sebastian Bach? Certainly he possessed the fourth ray in his soul. With Beethoven and Brahms, he was the embodiment of the genius of the fourth ray soul nature of Germany. Bach was an unparalleled master of harmony – not simply a personally appealing harmony (pretty and attractive), but a vast and all-embracing harmony comprehending not only magnificent consonances but even dark (through resolvable) dissonances. No composer known to modern man – whether before Bach or after him – has so well understood the secret laws of harmony and wielded them with more arresting effect. Something of what Man (the fourth kingdom in Nature) may be, resounds through the music of Bach – not just sentient man, sensitive and responsive, but Man the planetary Thinker, attempting to comprehend the cosmos as music.
When highly developed souls reach a certain stage of development they must address themselves to the destruction of the causal body. The following would be the method of destruction for J.S. Bach:
“When the egoic ray is the attributive Ray of Harmony, the fourth ray, the method will be along the line of the inner realisation of beauty and harmony; it causes the shattering of the causal body by the knowledge of Sound and Colour and the shattering effect of Sound. It is the process that leads to the realisation of the notes and tones of the solar system, the note and tone of individuals, and the endeavor to harmonise the egoic note with that of others. When the egoic note is sounded in harmony with other egos, the result is the shattering of the causal body, dissociation from the lower and the attainment of perfection. Its exponents develop along the line of music, rhythm and painting. They withdraw within in order to comprehend the life side of the form. The outer manifestation of that life side in the world is through that which we call art. The great painters and the superlative musicians are in many cases reaching their goal that way.” (LOM 17)
We are reminded that the fourth ray is the “ray of mathematical exactitude” (EP I 49) – perhaps an unusual thought for some who think only in terms of the more obvious qualities of the fourth ray. It is not simply a ray influencing those who are adept at presenting contrasting moods in the great play and interplay of opposites. Bach, of course, could do this masterfully, but he also understood the mathematics of harmony to a degree unparalleled by any modern composer (we cannot speak of remote antiquity). If we wish to understand the mathematical precision of Bach’s music (which, for all its formal-numerical perfection still made glorious music), we should not ignore the fourth ray in its higher significance. The same is true when we think of Leonardo da Vinci (another great artist upon the fourth ray), adept in all manner of applied mathematics.
i. The constellational conduits for the fourth ray are principally two: Sagittarius, in which the orthodox ruler of the Aries Sun-sign, Mars, is placed, giving identification with humanity’s great quest; and Taurus, in which Uranus and Chiron are placed. Taurus, which not the principal distributor of the fourth ray at this time, must be significant in the case of J.S. Bach, as it is the great sign of sound – the ‘voice’ and the ‘Creative Word’. Uranus (conveying the seventh ray with which Bach was so obviously equipped) confers the power to transform through the masterful organization of sound. Chiron, the guide and healer (two of its higher meanings) confers the power to heal through sound (who can deny that this has been the case for countless listeners of the music of J.S. Bach?), and the power to ‘point the way’ to aspiring musicians of lesser stature. Even great composers bend the knee at the altar of Bach’s genius.
ii. When planets are found in certain signs/constellations, they necessarily conduct, to a degree, the rays that are transmitted through the signs/constellations. Thus all rulers of Taurus, Scorpio and Sagittarius, whatever other rays they ’emit’, also ‘transmit’ the fourth ray.
iii. When we look to the planetary level for those planets emitting the fourth ray, we must focus on Mercury and the Moon.
iv. Mercury is tremendously important in the work of J.S. Bach because of its placement in Pisces, conjunct to the planet of ‘lighted, loving beauty’, Venus. Mercury is, in part, a fourth ray planet, in its ‘fall’ when found in Pisces. But here, we cannot consider Mercury ‘fallen’, but rather in a kind of ‘intuitive exaltation’. Mercury in this ultra-receptive position contributed powerfully to Bach’s ability to think in terms of harmony and within the flowing world of sound. One can imagine that he was never at a loss for musical ideas (though Claude Debussy seems to have thought so!). He has so many methods of connecting to the fourth or buddhi plane; all four of the planets in Pisces relate him to this planar ‘source of music’. Through Mercury, Bach became the greatest of all known musical thinkers.
v. The Moon is a ‘planet’ of the fourth ray, and is powerfully placed – conjunct the MC. It is clear that many lives of preparation led to the phenomenon that was J.S. Bach. Music was instinctive in him (Moon). It was his deepest nature. His Aries Sun-sign gave him the energy to pour forth inexhaustibly, but his soul was rooted in the higher meaning of Pisces and Cancer (both Neptunian signs).
vi. Although, for advanced people, one is to substitute Uranus for the Moon (and one could justify this in the case of J.S. Bach, for the great archetypal structure of music unfolded itself in his greatest works), still we cannot avoid the importance of Neptune as a veiled planet. Neptune admits to the realms of heavenly or transcendental music from which he drew his inspiration. Thus Neptune both conjuncts the Moon and must be considered veiled by the Moon. We must remember, when we think of Bach’s music, that Neptune is the planet of the Christ. Thus both the planet of occultism (Uranus) and the planet of mysticism (Neptune) should be considered as veiled by Neptune, thought Neptune relates to the fourth ray and Uranus does not.
vii. One more conduit for the fourth ray exists. It is the planet Neptune itself. Thought we cannot confirm that one of Neptune’s rays may be the fourth, it is, in any case, directly connected with the fourth or buddhic plane. Great musicians and artists (usually significantly equipped with the fourth ray) access the buddhi or the fourth plane in their great artistic revelations, and they often do this through Neptune. The buddhic plane is the ‘Plane of Harmony’. “When the fourth plane of harmony or of buddhi is achieved, then is consummation” (LOM 215). It is obvious that Neptune (as both the esoteric and hierarchical ruler of the Cancer Ascendant and special ruler of Pisces) must be extraordinarily definitive in relation to the life-calling or soul-vocation of J.S. Bach. It would be a planet, perhaps more than any other, through which the quality of the fourth ray soul could pour into his personality consciousness.
A delightful anecdote may convince us all of the depth to which the fourth ray had a hold on the venerable Bach:
“When Bach entered a crowded room, someone improvising at the keyboard jumped from his seat thus creating a dissonant chord. Bach rushed straight to the harpsichord walking past his host, resolved the dissonance and proceeded with a suitable cadence. Only then did he greet his host.”(J. F. Reichardt, Musikalischer Almanach, 1796)
b. Bach’s Personality Ray: Bach’s personality could have been on the first or seventh ray (Aries will reinforce either). He presented the image of a stable and set individual, especially in his more mature years. His sense of purpose was very strong, and he could be extremely obstinate if his musical values were challenged. We look to the first ray personality for tremendous levels of accomplishment; a personality on the first ray becomes a dependable, durable, steadfast instrument through which the soul (on whatever ray) can express. If we think that Bach was, at certain points in his career, composing, rehearsing and performing one cantata a week, we must judge him as an individual of tremendous stamina and personal fortitude. His output was greater, perhaps, than that of any modern composer (approximately a thousand works have come down to us) and it is probable that a quarter to a third of what he wrote was lost – literally hundreds of pieces! In one respect, one is reminded of Alice A. Bailey, with her first ray personality; she was able to accomplish so much for Hierarchy because she was able to compel her vehicles to do her will (as a soul).
We must also be mindful that if Bach had a first ray personality, and if his soul ray (as seems the case) was the fourth ray, then, in his person, he would be duplicating the rays of Germany – fourth ray soul, first ray personality. Some of Germany’s greatest musicians seem to be equipped in this manner: Beethoven, Wagner and perhaps, Brahms First ray qualities are clearly evident in Bach’s personality: independence, endurance, the power to drive himself forward, and the tendency to confrontation (augmented by first ray Aries as his Sun-sign). Seventh ray characteristics are not lacking either, but we must remember that the seventh ray is really a more concrete (and more polite) reflection of the first ray. Bach was stable, rhythmically productive, profoundly connected with manifestation, and highly ordered in his compositional technique and systematic by nature. Another seventh ray indicator was his interest in genealogy. He came from a most remarkable musical family and (with Cancer ascending) he was very aware of this. At one point in his mature life, 1735, he undertook genealogical research and the construction of a ‘Family Tree’. The genealogy he drafted was called Ursprung der musicalisch-Bachischen Familie (“Origin of the Musical Bach Family”), in which he traced his ancestry back to his great-great-grandfather Veit Bach.
This type of activity is definitely a seventh ray pursuit. There are a number of ways, however, in which the seventh ray does not fit a as a sole personality ray. He was a relentless and rapid worker, rather too driving and too confrontational to consider the seventh ray as the major personality ray. Either the first or seventh rays can confer resistance to change and satisfaction with one’s own methods. One thinks, however, of how often he was at odds with various authorities and how challenging he could be, how resistant to proceeding according to established policies and conditions. It is more likely that there were, indeed, seventh ray potencies in the personality (Aries and Cancer would confer them) but that the personality could not be said to be ruled entirely by this ray As all souls, however, have a subray, and it is the contention of the author that the subray of the soul is a subray, but not necessarily the only subray. In other words, the personality ray, which is also a subray of the soul, can be different from the subray of the soul per se. If we were to search for the manner in which the proposed fourth ray soul would express through a subray to be found “on its own level, the soul level”, then the seventh ray would be a good candidate for such a subray. It would give to Bach his great capacity for the organization of multitudinous musical factors presented meticulously and with impressive formal perfection.
The fourth and seventh rays together are considered by the Tibetan as the two “practically artistic rays”. It cannot be denied that for all the amazing variety found in the music of Bach, there is, simultaneously, an undeniable regularity. There are, of course, pieces which are written in the improvisational, rhapsodic style, and these are deliberately free in form, but the great majority of Bach’s music has a certain relentless, rhythmical regularity – Aries for relentlessness, Cancer for tenacity, and the seventh ray for regularity.
We must factor into the equation a fact pointed out by Keith Bailey in his esoteric writings on music history. The cycle of the seventh ray began in 1675, ten years before Bach’s birth. The presence of this incoming ray would necessarily have a formative effect upon his music, though in a way Bach was more a synthesist of the musical periods preceding him than a pioneer and innovator of new forms. The seventh ray, however, doubtlessly helped him formalize his synthesis.
i. As stated, the sign/constellation Aries (his Sun-sign) would offer a significant conduit for both the first and seventh rays, though the first ray expresses more strongly through Aries than the seventh.
ii. Aries is the only strictly first ray sign/constellation in Bach’s personality horoscope. Cancer, his proposed Ascendant does transmit the seventh ray just as Aries does, so he was abundantly equipped with zodiacal reinforcements of the ‘Ray of Order’.
iii. Because the Aries Sun is in the twelfth degree, Vulcan would necessarily be in Aries, reinforcing the rhythmic impact of his music. Vulcan, of course, is principally a first ray planet, and would be strengthened in first ray Aries. It would be a planet whose energy would be connected with a first ray personality and would strengthen the forcefulness (and isolative tendencies) personality.
iv. First ray Pluto is a rising planet in the proposed chart, though it is not conjunct the Ascendant. A planet in the first house is frequently associated with personality quality, and would strengthen the proposed first ray personality, adding a certain isolativeness, depth and inscrutability. Bach was always deeper than any of his contemporaries could possibly fathom – and deeper than posterity can fathom. This rising Pluto would contribute to his first ray containment and apparent reserve. It is involved in a T-square formation with the Sun and Jupiter (though the aspect to the Sun is fairly wide). If Vulcan is in a degree higher than that of the Sun, there may be a square between Pluto and Vulcan, which would contribute greatly to the undeniable power of his musical expression.
v. If we wish to see seventh ray conduits (in addition to Aries and Cancer) we shall focus on Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter. Uranus is in its own house, the eleventh, (by orthodox dignity), and would contribute to the capacity for large-scale sonic organization. Re-organizational Uranus is also trine organizational Saturn, within an acceptable orb. Although neither Saturn nor Virgo are specifically conduits of the seventh ray, they have qualities which are certainly seventh ray in nature, and do have more subtle or ‘older’ associations with this ray. Some of Bach’s amazing power of manifestation can be attributed to the effect of this “trine of precipitation” between Uranus and Saturn.
vi. Jupiter is a partially seventh ray planet (governing ceremonial worship and stately pageantry) and it is placed in the seventh sign, Libra (numerically and, to a degree, qualitatively, associated with the seventh ray). Here we may find some of the sociability (a second ray/seventh ray characteristic) for which Bach was known. It would contribute to his capacity for comprehensive musical organization (though of the most formally balanced kind). It would give grandeur, scope, dignity and ceremoniousness to his compositions (when these were desired). The fact is that Bach, the great synthesist, was so versatile, he could compose in a wide variety of moods and styles. Devotion, solemnity, grandeur, intimacy, delicacy, pathos, gaiety, impressivity, stateliness, contemplativeness, tragedy, horror, jubilation – how many are the descriptions which could be applied to the wide range of his compositions!
c. Bach’s Mental Ray: His mind, with all its mathematical intricacy, may well have been the third. He could expand, compress, invert, or reverse, any melody with mathematical precision, knowing its exact place within the organic whole. He was, in fact, a musico-mathematical genius. The third ray is one of the mathematical rays. The fifth, fourth and second rays are also, each in its own way, related to mathematics.
The third ray is not one of the usual rays for the mind, but deviations from the norm can be found in advanced people, disciples and initiates (not that it is any better to have third or second ray mind than a mind on the first, fourth or fifth rays). In fact the third and second ray minds have many undesirable problems associated with them. These have to be resolved before such minds can be used to their fullest capacity. But this is true also, of the more normal types of minds When a disciple reaches Bachs level of psycho-spiritual attainment, it is often difficult to discern precisely what may be the ray of the mind. So many factors come together and meet on the plane of mind. The process of personality integration and soul-infusion will be well advanced, and, thus, there is much blending of quality, for the personality ray will certainly affect the mind in the case of a thoroughly integrated personality and, as one approaches the third degree (at which point soul-infusion is relatively complete), the soul ray will use the mental vehicle for the expression of its own quality In one who is an initiate of the third degree (and it certainly seems that Bach stood upon the “mountain top of harmonious beauty”), even the monad may affect the functioning of the lower mind, for monad and the mind are connected (just as is the soul with the astral body and the personality with the physical body).
We must realize that the mind of J.S. Bach was marvelously synthetic, flexible, and versatile – sinuously weaving together a wealth of diverse musical elements. The third ray in the mental nature (when incompletely mastered) can produce certain counter-productive tendencies. The Tibetan speaks of the “the fluidity of the third ray mind which will make him [an individual] a scheming manipulator or a fighter for immense schemes which can never really materialise”. (EP II 444) In Bach’s case, the ‘immense schemes’ were there, but Bach was capable of materializing them. We can understand the extraordinary fluidity in Bach’s mind (really a mind as exact and exacting as it was fluid) when we consider his contrapuntal skill. There has never been another contrapuntalist like him. He could manage the intricacy of many independent voices moving simultaneously, each in its own way, all brilliantly coordinated, and each enhancing all the others.
The flexibility of mind required to manage his extraordinary ‘polyphonic feats’ can only be attributed to the third ray – on some level of his energy system. Of course, he had access to the abstract mind whereon the Divine Patterns are reflected, and the abstract mind is archetypally resonant with the third ray The Tibetan prefers to name the third ray, the “Ray of Creative Intelligence” (R&I 559). Bach’s mind was as exacting as the fifth ray and as sensitive as the fourth ray. For its great strategic quality and the sinuous fluidity with which melodic and harmonic strategies were executed, the author prefers to think in terms of the highly creative third ray with its pronounced ability for ‘parallel processing’ – multi-tasking we could also call it The third ray has a justified reputation for ‘manipulativeness’. Other third ray qualities have been described as “critical, analytical, separative, prideful and full of self-interest” (DINA I 233).
Bach, being a great musical-mathematician was genuinely humble (except when his Aries energy got the better of him), but he certainly had the capacities of criticism (self-critique in terms of what was sanctioned by the Laws of Harmony) and of analysis. He was also a ‘manipulator-extraordinaire’ – but of music, not of people. Master DK tells us of three great expressions of divinity: the ‘Director’, the ‘Teacher’ and the ‘Manipulator’. No one could manipulate the elements of music as could J.S. Bach. This is another reason for thinking of the thinking of his mind in terms of the third ray. He was far to ‘solid’ to be a third ray personality, and a third ray soul is out of the question. The monad may be another matter, but we are not in any position to assess it, and the probability is against it.
i. Mercury and Venus are two planets of the mind (“the Mercury-Venus mind” – EA 362), and they are both in a major sign of synthesis, Pisces. When these two planets are conjoined, we often see some unusual mental ability – artistic or scientific. Through this conjunction we see the skillfully-expressive aesthetic mentality.
ii. Mars is a planet ruling the concrete or scientific mind and the five senses, and it is placed in a sign which relates to the fifth ray as well as to the sixth and fourth. But in this case, Mars in Sagittarius is not as strong a mental indicator as other planets – except that it is in an exact square to Saturn in Virgo, which is, in the case of J.S. Bach, a planet which must be applied to the mind.
iii. If the mind is on the third ray (or has a strong third ray component), then the leading planet of the third ray, Saturn, will be powerful in relation to the mental expression. Virgo is a mental and material sign; it inherited these qualities, we are told, from the first solar system when it manifested with less ‘heart’ energy than now it does (for today it transmits the second and sixth rays). Virgo is related to the concrete mind and to Mercury (which, in Pisces) is the exoteric dispositor of Saturn.
iv. If we consider Saturn in Virgo an important mental indicator, we shall have the third ray working with Virgoan precision, contributing an exacting quality to the mental expression. When we say that a mind (or any other vehicle) is on a given ray, we must not think that this statement fully describes the functioning of that vehicle. Many other factors (subrays and astrological factors) contribute, as well, to the way the vehicle expresses. These factors may be under the general impress of the ray which rules the vehicle, but they certainly bring their own qualities to its functioning. The situation is more complex that a simple ray chart might lead one to think.
v. Fifth ray qualities cannot be dismissed and would be necessary in any individual approaching or having taken the third initiation, at which time the fifth ray dominates. Bach has a complete ‘concrete knowledge’ of music; the facts of the musical art were completely mastered and at his fingertips. The fifth ray is also a mathematical ray. It does not contain, however, the completeness of Bach’s mental abilities nor the fluidity of the mental-musical process.
d. Bach’s Astral Ray: The astral nature appears to have been the sixth ray, though again, it is impossible to assign only one ray to the emotional nature of a composer who was not only a mental giant but a ‘genius of the emotions’. It is clear that a great devotion animated Bach’s sacred music. Some of the most glorious moments of pure and powerful devotion are found in his St. Matthew Passion and his B Minor Mass. A well-known atheist humorously (but tellingly) remarked: “Bach almost persuades me to be a Christian”.
Again, from a slightly humorous angle, anyone who gets into a knife-fight in the street with a bassoon player does so not only because of his Aries energy, but because the astral body might just be upon the sixth ray (or, allowably, the first). It is not a feature of the second ray astral nature to be hot-tempered Still, it cannot be denied, that there are in music passages of pure serenity and love which could only have been composed when the emotions were strongly influenced by the second rather than the sixth ray.
i. If we look for indicators of the sixth ray in relation to the emotions, we shall find powerful ones.
ii. Constellationally, all sixth ray signs (Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) are tenanted.
iii. We note that Mars (the orthodoxly ruling planet of the Sun-sign), itself a planet of the sixth ray which is associated with the solar plexus and the emotional nature, is placed in Sagittarius, the sign/constellation which at this time transmits more of the sixth ray than any other. This position would be a guarantee of zeal and enthusiasm. We can see by examining Bach’s life that there were often times when he just “couldn’t wait”. His eagerness got the better of him. Often he left his posts, perhaps quite impulsively, and was “absent without leave” on numerous occasions. With Mars in Sagittarius and a sixth ray astral body, he was ready for adventures (and under the Aries influence, he did what he wished).
iv. The other planet associated with the solar plexus and the astral body is Neptune, placed in emotional Pisces and powerful through its conjunction to the MC and the Moon. In very highly developed types this could be looked at as a second ray indicator (for monadically, Neptune is very probably expressive of the second ray and Pisces is a potent second ray sign as well as a sixth – ultimately, the most potent). However, the more normal reading of Neptune would emphasize the power of devotion – at times, transcendent devotion – directed towards Jesus and the Christ (the two being technically indistinguishable except to the occultist).
v. Saturn is not an emotional planet. Nevertheless, it is placed in sixth ray-second ray Virgo, giving, we might think, Saturnian responsibility for the nurturance of the Christ-spirit.
e. Bach’s Etheric-Physical Ray: As for the physical nature, the seventh ray brain seems probable, as Bach was a master at organization, and approached composition systematically (often, due to haste, by formula – a seventh ray characteristic). But the matter is not simple as he was also a man of very great activity. Probably a closer examination of the details of his daily life (which must be available in the various biographies) would reveal more. He did have an extraordinary flexibility at the organ or keyboard. He could do so many things at the same time that his rate of activity (fingers on various keyboards and feet dancing at on organ pedals) was astonishing. We also see him very willing to travel hundreds of miles on foot, going where he wished, more or less when he wished, regardless of pre-arranged schedules and established responsibilities. This occurred, of course, much more when he was young. His constitution looks more robust than that which is normally attributed to the seventh ray, but this too may be misleading, as if the first ray was his personality ray, that ray would qualify and color the physical vehicle, lending it strength and stamina.
Another anecdote may say something about the ray of Bach’s physical body, though perhaps as much about Aries which often does “whatever it will take”: “Bach was so fond of full harmony that, besides a constant and active use of the pedals, he is said to have put down such keys by a stick in his mouth, as neither hands nor feet could reach.” (Burney, History)
f. The Case for the Second Ray: We must inevitably come to a discussion of the second ray. In Bach there was a great power to unify and synthesize; he seems to have had a passion for completeness (a quality of those upon the second ray, who do not wishing to leave anything out). In his renowned keyboard composition in two volumes, Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (The Well-Tempered Clavier), Bach systematically wrote preludes and fugues in all musical keys. In general, he seemed interested in exploring the many possible combinations and permutations of the various musical themes he chose. Completeness belongs to the Jupiterian second ray, whereas the exploration of combinations and permutations to the third.
From another perspective, he wrote some of the most profoundly moving and inspiring religious music produced by any composer. His only rival (as history reveals) was Georg Frederick Handel, who, as a composer was strongly upon the sixth ray. His four planets in Pisces (which planets included the exoteric and esoteric rulers of his Cancer Ascendant and the esoteric ruler of his Aries Sun-sign), attuned him to the values of the Piscean Age, and he seemed to summarize in his nature the deep devotion which was generated by that sign in that Age. But there is also something deeper in his best religious music, which touches more the quality of the Christ than devotion to the Master Jesus.
g. Transition from the Fourth Ray to the Second?: We may ask, “Was the fourth ray in process of translating itself into the second?” This point might be much debated. Indeed, as some souls approach the third initiation, the ray of the soul, if it is a Ray of Attribute, does refocus as a Ray of Aspect, and the fourth ray of Harmony through Conflict may refocus as the second Ray of Love-Wisdom. The fourth ray may also change into the third Ray of Creative Intelligence (very improbable in Bach’s case). But there are also those souls who retain a Ray of Attribute as their soul ray even to the fourth initiation (otherwise the Tibetan could not present seven different methods of destroying the causal body at that degree). It is the impression of the author that if we wish to find the second ray in J.S. Bach, we should not look so much at the transition of the fourth ray soul into the second, as to the ray of the monad.
h. Bach’s Monadic Ray: One may only speculate about the monadic ray. So often it is the subray of the monad (a subray manifesting on the monadic level and not ‘below’) which defines one’s more worldly task, while the major ray of the monad would lie latent, ‘behind’. Certainly there is a vast intelligence in J.S. Bach, suggesting the third ray. His greatest works are some of the artistic cornerstones of Western civilization and culture and, thus, can be seen as expressions of the Mahachohan’s department.
All his work, however, was offered to the “glory of God” and exalted the significance of Jesus Christ. At his stage of development – almost certainly an initiate of the third degree – the monadic ray would begin expressing (along with its subray). One suspects that a musician of such depth would necessarily have the fourth ray as the subray of his monadic ray. A Ray of Attribute, however, (4, 5, 6, or 7) cannot be the principal or major monadic ray. Could he be serving, essentially, in the Second Department, the “Department of the Christ”, and thus be focussed on the second ray monadically? It seems clear that, of the three levels of the spiritual triad, he represented streams of energy from buddhi and manas, rather than from atma. Though the first ray was powerful in his more worldly expression, it does not seem a primary focus within the triad. The monadic ray, therefore, was almost certainly either the third or the second. We are reminded of three monadic qualities – Goodness, Beauty and Truth. As well, monadically, one can be a Director, Teacher or Manipulator. In the first triplicity of qualities, ‘Beauty’ is a second ray quality, and indeed, music has its birth in the second ray. The Chohan of the second ray (Master K.H.) is a great musician. Is J.S.B. essentially a revealer of the archetypal beauty of the ‘Great Composer’s’ Celestial Music – the “Music of the Spheres”? The whole question is worth deep pondering and cannot be confidently resolved by those still limited by the human mind, as we are.
i. A Proposed Ray Formula could then be as follows:
Monad: Two/4 or Three Spiritual Triad: Buddhic-Manasic, or Manasic-Buddhic (c.f. TCF 17) Soul: 4 Personality: 1/7 or, perhaps, 7/1.Lower Mind: 3 (4,5) Astral: 6/2. Physical: 7/3 This can only be considered a hypothesis. In the archives of the Masters the truth is known. It does no good, however, for students to accept ray formulas from various teachers as correct, unless they can ‘see for themselves’, reasonably and intuitively, why such ray formulas may be correct.
Other Astrological Factors of Significance
a. Bach’s chart is highly integrated with many important aspect patterns.
b. The exact trine from Mars in Sagittarius to the Sun, speaks of the fiery ardour with which he pursued composition and performance. It considerably strengthened the drive in general, reinforcing self-assertion and the sexual, conjugative drive has well.
c. The close trine from the Moon/MC/Neptune conjunction to the Cancer Ascendant and North Node, showed an ease in the creation of wholeness, synthesis. Pisces and Cancer are two signs which embrace entirety, attempting to give full and complete expression to the field upon which they focus. In the case of Roberto Assagioli (who had Cancer rising and the Sun in Pisces) the synthesis (‘Psychosynthesis’) was applied to the field of psychology. In the case of Albert Einstein (again with Cancer rising and the Sun in Pisces but on the third ray whereas Assagioli was on the second) the field of synthesis and unification was physics. For H.P.B. (on the first ray) with Cancer rising and an angular Neptune, the field was occultism. For J.S. Bach, the field of applied synthesis was the art of music.
d. The trine shows the well-earned ease with which this could be accomplished. The ideas flowed easily. There was, apparently, never a problem with receptivity. He was a prodigious worker, however, and had to be to bring these ideas into manifestation.
e. There is a grand trine in water signs involving the Mercury/Venus conjunction in Pisces, Pluto in Cancer and the Vertex in Scorpio. The ultimate in refined musical taste and execution is indicated by the Mercury/Venus conjunction in that most musical sign, Pisces. Pluto, in relation to Mercury gives depth of idea and thought (with an ability to penetrate the occult nature of music). The miracle of Bach is that he could readily compose easily appreciated music, music of great beauty and appeal. But in such much, his prodigious craft is hidden. The obvious and widely recognized beauty was underlaid by an extraordinarily penetrating knowledge of what can be called the “occultism of harmonic structure”. He knew the mysteries. In his own words: “The secret of my harmony? I alone know it.” Therefore, his music is the most universal composed by a human being, delightful and impressive to the ordinary lover of music, and awe-inspiring to the connoisseur. The Scorpio Vertex may indicate his numerous “appointments with death” related to those he loved, ten of his children and his first wife (Pluto in Cancer). Perhaps we see why he could compose so feelingly on the “death of the Saviour”.
f. We find the Part of Fortune conjunct the Anti-Vertex in the ‘sonic sign’ Taurus, showing the sheer joy (PF) in the free creation of ‘musical cosmoses’ – ‘worlds of sound’.
g. Vesta, the asteroid of commitment and “sacred services” is in the same degree as his Mercury in Pisces, adding persistence, focus and dedication to his relentlessly intelligent musical mentality. The quality of devotion is also increased by this indicator.
h. No doubt the amative urge was very strong. Jupiter in Libra gives the love of affiliation and the desire for union. It is the planet of fusion in the sign of marriage. Mars in Sagittarius conjunct Juno signals the ardent pursuit of partnership. His two very fruitful marriages are signaled by Jupiter in the sign of marriage in the house of children (and also, of “children of the mind” – which he produced in even greater abundance that the children of the body). The family responsibilities which came upon him as the result of those marriages are signaled by Saturn (ruler of the seventh house of marriage) in the fourth house of home in, Virgo, the sign of ‘hard work’.
i. We hear of Bach’s amazing manual dexterity. Those who witnessed his playing could not follow his fingers (and, barely, his feet on the organ). We have to attribute this in part to the Mercury/Venus conjunction in fluid Pisces.
Parallels of Declination
a. There are a number of these which are significant.
b. Neptune and the MC are closely parallel reinforcing Neptune’s musically-mediumistic conjunction with the MC (and Moon).
c. Uranus and Chiron are parallel, reinforcing the conjunction by latitude which already exists between them. This is a combination for ‘sound healing’.
d. Pluto the Ascendant and the North Node are parallel. We have noted that although Pluto rises, it is not conjunct the Ascendant by longitude. But the close parallel is equivalent to a Pluto/Ascendant conjunction, adding depth, power, inscrutability, secrecy and an acquaintance with life and death issues. This parallel is a reinforcement for a proposed first ray personality. Bach was at certain times of his career considered a ‘loner’, ‘standoffish’ and possessed of a superior attitude. Some of this may be attributable to Sun in Aries in the Leo decanate, but these are first ray characteristics, to which Pluto would also contribute, especially if closely parallel to the Ascendant.
e. Mercury and Venus are closely parallel, and already conjuncted by longitude. The parallel between them is a significant reinforcement of a conjunction already so useful in promoting musical understanding, composition and performance. Bach certainly had many words at his disposal, and could express himself ably using customary language, but his greatest expression was through the language of music (Mercury, planet of speech in Pisces).
f. Mars is contraparallel the Equatorial Ascendant, contributing so some of his difficulties with authority and his combative attitude. So often, when reprimanded for taking unexpected and unsanctioned leaves of absence, Bach would not even bother to explain where he had been or why.
The Testimony of the Fixed Stars
a. In the case of an initiate the ‘fixed stars’ (obviously a solar factor) emerge as increasingly important, for such an individual has taken the first ‘solar’ initiation.
b. The Ascendant is conjunct Alhena “The Proudly Marching One”, which confers a conscious or unconscious mission. It is linked to the concept of being “marked out” as important. Most writers agree that Alhena is of the nature of Venus or Mercury, or both. They all agree that the star confers artistic abilities. Dr. Eric Morse finds it significant in the “rise of European thought”.
c. Both the MC and the Moon are conjunct a great star called Deneb Adige (also known at the “Emperor”). This star, 1900 time more luminous than our Sun, is said to confer power, clarity and determination. It is linked with both a strong will and strong temper. While opinions vary, it is said to give success through artistic pursuits. Deneb Adige is the alpha star of the constellation Cygnus, a constellation associated with transcendence; occultly, it is Hamsa (the “Bird outside of Time and Space”). In the case of Bach, it can be associated with sublime power and exaltation. We can see it its influence a contribution to the grandeur and majesty of Bach’s musical conceptions, and the fact that, in his exalted achievement, he soars above so many good, but still lesser, composers.
d. The Moon is also conjunct Fomalhaut, one of the four Royal Stars. It is said to confer noble dreams and ideals which must remain incorruptible if failure is to be avoided. We can see that Bach did not compromise his noble ideals. This star is also associated with conferring an immortal name – a “name remembered forever”; this interpretation seems confirmed in his case. The star, like other important stars in his nativity, is of the nature of Venus. It carries a sixth ray quality. It is significant to see it in Pisces, conjunct the Moon; it can relate to a transcendentally lofty musical idealism. When the star culminates, as in the case of Bach, it is said, according to Robson, to “confer great and lasting honors”. We can see that this star was significant in his art.
e. The North and South Nodes are respectively conjunct and opposed Mirzam (the star called the ‘Announcer’). Here is found the tendency to make a statement, or bring new ideas to the world. We can understand that Bach carried a certain message to the world about the possibilities for harmonic and formal perfection in the art of music.
f. Jupiter, a planet orthodoxly ruling his MC is conjunct Spica, a start conferring brilliance. It represents the “gift of the Goddess”- in this case creative fertility of the most brilliant kind, accompanied by renown.
g. Uranus in Taurus is closely parallel Rasalhague, a healing star. As Uranus is also conjunct Chiron (in Taurus), a planet of healing, we see another confirmation of the healing power of sound (Taurus) pervading Bach’s music. Bach’s music heals through the “harmonic ordering of the psyche”. His use of ‘serpentine’ melodies and chord progressions may also be involved.
h. Pluto is closely parallel Alcyone (the “Central Spiritual Sun” of the Pleiades – a star of mystery and judgement, deeply identified with the ‘Mother’ power of the Pleiades). Pluto is the esoteric ruler of the MC and thus important to Bach. This combination may signal the deep cooperation of the deva kingdom in the production of his music.
From a mundane perspective, Alcyone is associated with problems connected to eyesight. This became true later in Bach’s life, but is as much an Aries liability. He did undergo two eye operations shortly before his death (Pluto) which undermined his health and may have contributed to the onset of death. Alcyone is also associated with mystical abilities (which his music confirms) and with ‘ruthless judgment’ (applied to people but to what is musically acceptable). Bach’s sense of the rules of harmony was very strict. Many of the rules of harmony still observed by composers descend to us through Bach. Such tendencies speak to the importance of the lawful and law-abiding seventh ray in his expression.
i. Algol, a star of death and of “severed heads” is opposed his Vertex and hence, conjunct his Anti-Vertex (“point of free will”) just as the Vertex is a point of fated, inevitable encounter. Bach has been called ‘merciless’ in his musical exactitude, and the demands he places upon knowledgeable listeners. Master Serapis (the “Egyptian”, who is the fourth ray Master behind many of the world’s great artists) is said to be the most ‘exacting’ of all the Masters, probably because beauty will allow no compromises. We can see Bach as the “destroyer of musical illusions” (severing the symbolic heads which produce illusory thought), setting a standard for beauty-in-harmony which shames unworthy attempts. It is as if he set out to “conquer the world of harmony”, and pursued the task inexorably to completion.
j. There are, of course, other fixed-star aspects, and these may be explored by the interested enquirer.
Esoteric and Hierarchical Rulerships
a. Bach was both a disciple and initiate upon the fourth ray of Harmony through Conflict. This is the proposition.
b. The Ascendant was in Cancer; the Sun in Aries; the Moon in Pisces. He inherited a rich musical past (through his family of origin, and, no doubt, reincarnationally). This inheritance was mediated through his Pisces Moon. The strong self-assertion of his personality was promoted by the Sun in assertive Aries. The soul purpose, however, concerned the embodiment and manifestation of beauty (the gifts of Cancer in relation to the fourth ray). “I build a lighted house and therein dwell”. He was to tap the well-spring of inspiration (Moon, Neptune, Venus and Mercury all in Pisces) and energetically (Aries) give it embodiment (Cancer) in a great corpus (Cancer) of work. The task was to bring the “Music of the Sphere” into embodiment on Earth. He states as much in his credo.
c. As a disciple, the Sun and the Ascendant are to be considered, with Mars, the exoteric ruler of his Sun, contrasted with Neptune, the esoteric ruler of his Ascendant. In this comparison, we see him progressing from hyper-active, zealous productivity towards a sublime connection with the heart of music. As a child, he was unfortunate in the loss of both parents in less than a year (Pisces), but he utilized the energy of Aries to push himself forward and find preferment at a very early age. As life went on, however, and as his position in Leipzig was assured (through recognition and sponsorship from authorities higher than those of the Leipzig city council – his nominal employers), he settled more into the Cancerian mode, and withdrew towards the creation of increasingly esoteric aspects of music – the climax of which tendency appears as his last (and some say academically, greatest) work – the unfinished Art of Fugue. The life-trend, therefore, was towards Cancerian subjectivity, reducing the brashness of the Aretian personality, with its hyperactivity and hyper-productivity.
d. If, however, we credit Bach as an initiate of the third degree, then the esoteric ruler of the Sun Sign is to be taken into consideration and contrasted with the esoteric ruler of the Ascendant (which, in his case, is also the hierarchical ruler of the Ascendant). Mercury is the esoteric ruler of Aries and it is placed in subjective Pisces conjunct aesthetic Venus. Immediately we find him as a sensitive composer of great facility – a professional composer, as these two planets are found in the tenth house of profession. As a human being approaching the composition of music, he was masterful, and his works shone with beauty of intellect. What more could be expected? In fact, we must treat Neptune as a still more transcendent influence than intuitive Mercury and lovely Venus in Pisces. We have to see this esoteric/hierarchical rule of Cancer as the gateway to divinity through music. We have to see it as the way in which the cosmos is fused and united by music which comes not from the human imagination (Mercury and Venus) but from ‘God’ (and especially from the second aspect of God – the ‘Vishnu’ or Christ aspect). Then we can understand how to read the esoteric rulers of both Sun and Ascendant in such a way as to indicate the passage from a glorification of music as a human art based upon the development of the human mind and psyche (Mercury and Neptune) into the achievement of divine expression through art (Neptune).
e. One other factor of esoteric delineation is not frequently brought forward and that is the ‘monadic point’, or the point opposite the Sun-sign. According to the Tibetan, it signals a point of entrance for monadic energy into the astrological chart (but only for those for whom such energy is accessible). Let us assume that Bach is an initiate of the third degree (a musico-mathematical genius-synthesist on the fourth ray, and susceptible to monadic influence from the second or third rays). In that case (and only in relation to the particular incarnation under question) we would look to the hierarchical ruler of Libra which is Saturn – the planet transmitting the third ray – probably both in its soul nature and through its monadic nature. We would find this planet in the fourth house of the chart in Virgo or (using the Charts of the Crosses as delineated below) in the ‘third arm’ of the Whole Sign Chart. What would Libra and Saturn tell us about possible monadic influence in the life of J.S Bach?
f. We cannot assume that, simply because his ‘monadic point’ or ‘Earth point’ is Libra, hierarchically ruled by Saturn, the he is necessarily a third ray monad, for the Sun-sign changes frequently, from life to life, and, therefore, Libra will not always be the monadic point. In fact the monadic point will constantly vary – as often as the Sun-sign changes.
g. But we can think that Libra, Saturn and the third ray, would be monadically important or expressive in the particular life under discussion. If this were the case, Bach’s highly discriminative (Virgo) musico-organizational power, would be a monadic focus, and using the patterns of the abstract mind, his task would be to create a synthesis in music which reflected those patterns, in all their complexity (third ray), intricacy (third ray) and geometrical-numerical beauty (realizing that geometry and numerology can both be related successfully to the abstract mind).
h. If the monadic ray is the second, then the Great Geometrician would behind Bach’s monadic efforts. His work within the abstract Mind of God would serve the purpose of saviourship. If the monadic ray is the third, then the Libra-Saturn conduit would be direct indeed. These are highly abstract matters about which we can do no more than speculate. Still, speculation expands stimulates the abstract mind and helps us reach into triadal spheres.
i. If the author had to follow his sense of things (maybe something short of the true intuition), he would place the monad essentially upon the second ray.
Charts of the Crosses
a. No universal agreement exists concerning which of the many systems of house division to use. The Placidian system is used here, not because it is necessarily the best in all circumstances, but because it is the one to which people can most easily relate – being, in fact, the most widely distributed and, hence, the most popular. In other respects, Regiomontanus or Campanus systems may be of equal value. The Equal House system also has his adherents and they are justified in pointing out advantages which cannot be had through the normal Quadrant Systems of house division (in which the tenth house cusp and Midheaven always coincide).
b. The Tibetan asks us to consider the ‘Charts of the Crosses’, which we can approximate by the Whole Sign system of house division. Zero degrees of the Ascending Sign then appears at the Ascendant and zero degrees of each subsequent sign on each subsequent house cusp. Then, only rarely, will the normal Ascendant coincide with the Whole Sign first house cusp, or the normal MC with the Whole Sign tenth house cusp.
c. The Whole Sign chart for J.S. Bach will appear as follows:
d. With such a chart, one does not pay so much attention to aspects; this can be done within a normal chart. Rather one attends to how the various crosses are tenanted, and which planets appear in relation to which arm of which cross.
e. For instance, all the Pisces planets which, in the Placidus system, were in the tenth house or very nearly so, are now ‘on’ or ‘in’ the ninth arm of the chart, just as Saturn, which was in the fourth house of the Placidus chart is now ‘on’ or ‘in’ the third arm.
f. In Bach’s astrological chart, the Cardinal Cross and the Mutable Cross are most tenanted – each of them having three arms active (i.e., three arms in which planets or angles – Asc/IC/Dsc/MC – can be found). However, it is clear that Bach, from the point of view of the development of consciousness, was on the Fixed Cross (regardless of what the personality chart for the particular life under examination may show).
g. In the Whole Sign chart, there are many shifts of planetary position, and it is up to the esoteric astrologer to determine whether this configuration is somehow more esoterically revealing than the normal chart.
h. Can Saturn in Virgo in the third arm emphasize even more strongly the formidable structuring power of Bach’s mind? Can it give a concrete mind of unparalleled musical exactitude and precision? Is it therefore more indicative of soul mission and expression than its Placidus position in the fourth house.
i. Can the four planets, the MC and one asteroid now in the ninth arm, represent intuitive access to the higher mind and buddhi (the realm of intuition)? Can this Whole Sign chart emphasize even more potently the antahkaranic potentials of the life – the amazingly creative linking of buddhi-manas with a razor sharp concrete mind?
j. Can the Sun in Aries in the tenth arm indicate not only the professional drive which animated him, but show the potentials for the third initiation (Sun in Aries, the ‘Sign of Being’, in the house aligned with Capricorn – sign of initiation)? When an initiate becomes aware of the ‘mysteries of being’ (see also EA 387) at the third degree, Aries can be one of the important signs to signal entrance into this world of the spirit.
k. Can Jupiter in the fourth show the beneficence and bestowal of the Ashram of which he is a representative – proposedly, at that time, the Ashram of the Master Serapis Bey? It is the impression of the author that Serapis Bey has much of Libra associated with Him, due to the balance and beauty required in all consummate works of art, and, also, His efforts on behalf of world peace through the manner in which He inspired the founding of the League of Nations through a sixth ray aspirant, Woodrow Wilson, who had Libra rising.
Initiatory Development
a. It is often difficult for students of esotericism (usually, at this time, found on second or first ray lines – especially when students of the Master D.K.) to recognize and understand initiates on other rays.
b. The initiate of the third degree has abstracted himself (in his consciousness) from purely human living, and stands upon a ‘mountain top’ of perception from which the synthesis of many energies and forces is apparent.
c. Depending upon his ray, that perception from the first solar peak of attainment will be different. In Bach’s case, it would be a fourth ray revelation.
d. Every initiate of the third degree must bestow upon humanity a revelation. It must be a “revelation of unity through some medium”. Whereas the initiate of the second degree expresses the Divine Plan, the third degree initiate is somehow identified with and as the Plan, and through his thought, feeling and action reveals the synthesis which stands behind the Plan.
e. J.S. Bach revealed unity through harmony. He was the master-synthesist of musical creation up to his historical period. He gathered many musical threads into his hands and wove them together into a remarkable tapestry of various traditions and styles, enhancing each through the weaving process.
f. Cosmos is Divine Harmony. Bach knew this, and he knew the harmonic language in which to reveal that cosmic harmony. (In fact, to reveal, to some small extent, the Harmony of Sanat Kumara would be sufficient, and is probably what artists really mean when they speak of ‘cosmic’ harmony.) On the mountain top the Divine Will came to him, as the Laws of Harmony, and these became the Laws by which he abided, and which he taught (and, in a way enforced) to his many students (not just the students of his era, which were plentiful and placed a great demand upon his energies) but two centuries of students, including such musical luminaries as Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Wagner and Brahms. If his monadic ray were the second, with a fourth subsidiary, we could see him as a “Master Teacher of Divine Harmony” – revealing the ‘Greatest Light’ in relation to the Harmony of our Planetary Logos as He influenced him, and as He (the Planetary Logos) reflected the Greater Harmony of the various Planetary Logoi and of our Solar Logos. For a Master Musician on the Path of Higher Evolution, there is an ever-ascending ladder of Greater Harmonies to encounter, identify with, merge with and master.
g. Every initiate of the third degree must “make his mark upon the stone” and thus contribute something of lasting value to the welfare of humanity. There can be no question that Johann Sebastian Bach achieved this. History has judged him as the musicians’ musician, and the composers’ composer. His collected works are a great, benevolent bestowal upon the consciousness of the human race. What else can one ask of a third degree initiate?
h. When we consider a high mantram associated with his proposed Cancer Rising Sign, we can understand the perception he achieved of the musical universe visible to him in his day: “The Whole is seen as One”.
Life Purpose and Spiritual Objectives
The following quotation comes closest to embodying Johann Sebastian Bach’s life purpose: “I want to demonstrate to the world the architecture of a new and beautiful social commonwealth. The secret of my harmony? I alone know it. Each instrument in counterpoint, and as many contrapuntal parts as there are instruments. It is the enlightened self discipline of the various parts, each voluntarily imposing on itself the limits of its individual freedom for the wellbeing of the community. That is my message. Not the autocracy of a single stubborn melody on the one hand, nor the anarchy of the unchecked noise on the other. No, a delicate balance between the two an enlightened freedom. The science of my art. The harmony of the stars in the heavens. The yearning for brotherhood in the hearts of men. This is the secret of my music.”
The author is struck by the higher of meaning of Jupiter (the planet distributing his hypothesized monadic ray) in Libra (the sign of the social contract). Jupiter in Libra is the ‘social commonwealth’ of which Bach speaks. It is also the apotheosis of Right Human Relations through perfected Libra justice/Harmony. We do not find here the autocratic energy of Aries – very much connected with his personality. Rather the wish for a benevolence for all in what can be described by occultists as ‘Shamballic well-being’ Little really can be said to follow a quotation of such clarity and beauty. If any exoteric musician has known something of the “Harmony of the Spheres”, it was Johann Sebastian Bach. He was initiate to the “World of Harmony”, and he understood the cosmos as music – a Pythagorean conception. Indeed, as a second ray monad (were this true) he would be closely related to this great musical Chohan. One cannot presume to know the deeper life-purpose of Bach as humanity’s “Paragon of Harmony”. We can only say that through the scope, grandeur, precision and beauty of his musical offering he ennobled human consciousness, lifting is closer to right participation in the cosmic harmony which he perceived.
Quotations by Johann Sebastian Bach
“For the glory of the most high God alone,
And for my neighbour to learn from.” (Epigraph to the Little Organ Book, 1717)
(Here speak both the devotee and the teacher.)
“I was obliged to work hard. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed just as well.” (Forkel, Über Johann Sebastian Bachs Leben, Kunst, und Kunstwerke, 1802)
(Bach did not exaggerate his own worth. This is a modest remark from a man who had achieved humility by standing on a place from which the whole of music could be seen. He had achieved a “rightly adjusted sense of proportion” and must have been able to compare his music to the heavenly music which, from time to time, he no doubt heard.)
“It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.”
(Thus speaks the improvisationalist, who had mastered his art so well that it became spontaneous. There are certain trines in his chart which indicate that, with regard to the flow of musical ideas and expression, effort had disappeared.)
“Music is an agreeable harmony for the honor of God and the permissible delights of the soul.”
(The high idealist speaks, but he tempers it with the seventh ray. The phrase “permissible delights” is interesting, and shows him obedient to higher laws – perhaps higher Laws of Harmony).
“I have always kept one end in view, namely . . . to conduct a well-regulated church music to the honour of God.”
(The seventh ray is surely apparent.)
“My present post amounts to about 700 thaler, and when there are rather more funerals than usual, the fees rise in proportion; but when a healthy wind blows, they fall accordingly.”
(Bach had a sense of humor, telling us something about the realities of a musician’s life.)
Bach played the viola by choice; he liked to be ‘in the middle of the harmony’. (The viola is a sensitive stringed instrument, perhaps the least spectacular of the four conventional ones – violin, viola, cello and bass. The fourth ray resounds through this statement. Aries prefers trumpets and drums. Cancer and Pisces – more modest and subdued – feel related to the Viola.)
Quotations on Johann Sebastian Bach
“Since the best man could not be obtained, mediocre ones would have to be accepted.” – Leipzig Councilor Abraham Platz (On the appointment of J.S. Bach as Cantor of St. Thomas School by Leipzig Council; the ‘best man’ refers to Georg Philipp Telemann, who was Bach’s predecessor as Cantor at Leipzig and went to Hamburg at a higher salary.)
(The great artist so often transcends the appreciation of his contemporaries.)
“It is as though eternal harmony were conversing with itself, as it may have happened in God’s bosom shortly before He created the world.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(On Bach’s organ works; Geiringer, The Bach Family, 1954)
(Goethe was a fourth ray soul, the greatest poet-novelist-dramatist Germany has produced.)
“The immortal god of harmony.” – Ludwig van Beethoven (Letter to Christoph Breitkopf, 1801)
(Beethoven, reasonably Bach’s only rival in the union of power and greatness, was also a fourth ray soul with, so it would seem, a first ray personality. He is one who should know whereof he speaks. The author suspects that their monadic rays, however, may have been different.)
“My heart . . . beats sincerely for the sublime and magnificent art of that first father of harmony.” – Ludwig van Beethoven (Letter to Hofmeister, 1801)
(If the great Beethoven is correct, can there be any doubt about a soul upon the fourth ray of Harmony, Beauty and Art)?
“Not Brook but Sea should be his name.” – Ludwig van Beethoven (Bach is German for ‘brook’; quoted in Neuman, Bach, 1961)
(Beethoven pays tribute to the massive scope of Bach’s work, the encompassing breadth of his conception.)
“Bach is a Colossus of Rhodes, beneath whom all musicians pass and will continue to pass. Mozart is the most beautiful, Rossini the most brilliant, but Bach is the most comprehensive: he has said all there is to say.” – Charles Gounod (Le Figaro, 1891)
(Again a tribute to Bach’s comprehensiveness, and a hint at the Jupiterian completeness of the second ray.)
“A benevolent god to whom musicians should offer a prayer before setting to work so that they may be preserved from mediocrity.” – Claude Debussy (Lockspeiser, Debussy, 1963)
(This from a proud French musician, with a sense of humor. However, he spoke truly.)
“When the old Saxon cantor has no ideas, he sets off on anything and is truly merciless. In short, he is unbearable except when he is admirable…However, had he a friend – an editor, perhaps – who would have gently advised him not to write one day a week, for example, we might have been spared several hundred pages in which we must wander through a thicket of joyless measures which unwind pitilessly with ever the same little rascal of a ‘subject’ and ‘countersubject.'” – Claude Debussy, 1917
(More humor and irony, yet a tribute to the relentless creativity of Bach’s genius – even when he had “no ideas”!)
“Bach almost persuades me to be a Christian.” Roger Fry. (Woolf, Roger Fry, 1940)
Just for fun:
“Too much counterpointand what is worse, Protestant counterpoint.” Sir Thomas Beecham. (Atkins and Newman, Beecham Stories, 1978) (A great conductor with a wicked sense of humor.)
“The literal heritage, his music proper, has conquered our souls as has hardly any other master’s work. It was hidden and forgotten for a long time, like buried treasure in romantic tales, but finally several generations ago we found it again. We acquired it to possess it.” Paul Hindemith. (Commemorative speech on Bach given in Hamburg, 1950)
(From one of the great contemporary Germany composers, himself a master of harmony.)
Brothers, Sisters and Friends, of you have read laboriously through this analysis, you deserve a reward. Please go listen to one of the great works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Then all the words written above will seem unnecessary.
