Sagittarius 2017: Hollywood. Inquisitions in History. Leonardo da Vinci: Sagittarius Rising
Sagittarius keynote:
“I see the goal. I reach that goal and then I see another.”
(Full Moon December 3, 2017. 3.47 pm. GMT.)
The Sequence of Zodiac Signs and the Unfolding of Consciousness
Hollywood Inquisitions
Scorpio-Sagittarius Inquisitions in History
Leonardo da Vinci: Sagittarius Rising
Unveiling Genesis new book and the HHH video
The Sequence of Zodiac Signs and the Unfolding of Consciousness
As the Sun enters Sagittarius, we must bear in mind how the signs are all linked to one another, sequentially as well as in square and triangular relationships. In the sequence of signs from Libra to Sagittarius, the presence of Mars is noted. In Libra Mars is in detriment as the God of War in the sign of peace. In Scorpio, Mars is both the personality and soul ruler, bringing war and conflict, particularly within the astral body component of the personality; and the personality as a whole as it resists/wrestles with the soul.
In Sagittarius, Mars is the hierarchical ruler, having a strong effect upon the emotions (Mars rules the solar plexus) – in this fiery, philosophical sign of upward, aspiring thought. Hence, for some Sagittarians, the tendency to fundamentalism and fanaticism in the realm of ideas. The religiosity of believing leads eventually to a state of knowing. Mars is a planet associated with aggression and its influence through Sagittarius can promote aggressive ideas, hence Scorpio/Sagittarius embodies Inquisition, forcing certain ideas that seek to dominate individuals, groups or whole nations. In the following sign Capricorn, Mars is exalted where, “the fight for the satisfaction of personal ambitions, and the conflict with higher spiritual tendencies goes steadily forward.”1
Uma Thurman, Weinstein’s latest
accuser.
Hollywood Inquisitions
This Sagittarian tendency to inquisition is currently occurring in Hollywood with the recent revelations as discussed in the Libra and Scorpio newsletters; particularly since philosophical Jupiter entered Scorpio where it will remain for a year. Although it has been healthy that the many sexual abuse allegations have come to the surface, there has also been a tendency for trivial accusations that have arisen from others jumping upon the bandwagon.
One result of this is that several very high profile individuals like Weinstein and Spacey will be the sacrificial goats, whilst the rest of the offending culture may remain obscured. Time will tell and it is encouraging that this process is now occurring across all vocations and disciplines. Some current extremes that are currently driven by many years of suppressed rage, will continue no doubt, as the scales fine tune a greater balance in the ensuing years. Nevertheless, the opportunity for healing and for a radical reappraisal of relationships between and within the genders is looking very encouraging.
The 1950’s McCarthyism era was characterised by Communist fear-mongering and making accusations of subversion or treason without any conclusive evidence to back it up. Government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and labor union activists, were all fair game. There was quite a witch hunt on Hollywood actors that began in October 1947, where screenwriters, directors, and other movie industry professionals were made to testify about their known or suspected membership in the Communist Party. Momentum built up during Scorpio 1947 until the sun entered Sagittarius and the institution of the first Hollywood blacklist on November 25, 1947.
The Hollywood horoscope discussed in the Scorpio 2017 newsletter, was accurately reflecting these events on November 25, 1947 – some 70 years ago. Progressed Venus in Scorpio was exactly conjunct the Hollywood Scorpio sun, with several other transits and progressions in Scorpio. Transiting Saturn (authority) was in Leo, squaring the Hollywood Scorpio sun. The Sun and Jupiter were in sanctimonious Sagittarius, squaring natal Jupiter in Pisces. This Hollywood horoscope is a good barometer of the nation and as discussed last month, has a particular relevance to Los Angeles, the heart centre of the USA.
Hollywood horoscope.
Likewise today, similar transits are activating the Hollywood horoscope. Transiting Venus and Jupiter are trooping through the ninth house of higher ethics and principles. Before the end of November, Venus on its annual cycle passes over the Hollywood planets in Scorpio, including the midheaven, the public perception.
But more importantly, the longer term 12-year transit of Jupiter will pass over Hollywood’s Sun and Mercury by mid-January 2018, early April and finally late September 2018 – guaranteeing more revelations and perhaps further blame and anger fueling persecutory tendencies. Influencing this will be the progressed Moon of the Hollywood horoscope, recently entered Sagittarius and remaining there for another 27 months.
But probably the longest term and strongest significator of this Hollywood purification process has been the five-month station of Saturn in Sagittarius conjunct Hollywood’s natal Uranus – which first connected in January 2017, but was stationary from June to October 2017 when all the revelations emerged. Uranus is the ruler of the Hollywood Aquarius rising soul purpose (also the nation’s), hence Saturn’s influence in truth-telling Sagittarius had a profound effect upon revolutionary Uranus.
When Saturn moves out of Sagittarius soon to enter into its own sign of Capricorn, there will no doubt be brought in new laws that will codify the ethics enunciated over the last several months. Again, we see the sequence of the zodiac signs. Capricorn is the law, earthly human laws that are crafted to approximate spiritual law, for societies to live by. Traditionally, it has been the philosophers and abstract thinkers of the previous sign Sagittarius who have wrestled those principles from the Divine Mind and made them available for law-making. Now, there seems to be a greater force at work that involves the many instead of the few, creating a great sea change in old attitudes. This is a good example of Humanity determining its own destiny as continually expanding collective-consciousness drives onward and upward – a good Sagittarian phrase!
Women have been courageously leading the charge – and are laying charges! The old male culture has been dealt a death blow and the way is further paved for the emergence of the Divine Feminine, presided over by the Mother of the World.
Scorpio-Sagittarius: Inquisitions in History
Sagittarius rules organised religions and many religions have been guilty of the worst inquisitions through history. When the 2,160 year zodiac precession cycle is divided by the 12 signs, there emerges a 180-year sub-cycle for the dates throughtout the greater cycle. Therefore, the Scorpio and Sagittarian divisions start in 1217 AD and finish in 1577 AD. Hence, the reason why the European inquisitions lasted three and a half centuries – and even further into the 18th century.
The aim of the Catholic Church – working with government, was to combat “heresy” that began in the 12th century by the persecution of esoteric groups like the Cathars and the Waldensians, then later the Spiritual Franciscans, Hussites, Beguines etc. The inquisitors were chosen originally from the Dominican order, sanctioned by Pope Honorius in 1216. In 1233 Pope Gregory IX, charged the Dominican Inquisition to exterminate the Cathars.
Dates are according to the astronomical beginning and end of the Piscean Age: 43 BC to 2,117 AD.
(From The Destiny of the Races and Nations I, by Phillip Lindsay.)
Witch-burning in Spain.
Note that these dates correspond closely to the Scorpio sub-cycle in 1217 as well as the signing of the Magna Charta in 1215, in the last two years of the Libra sub-cycle – the law, fairness, justice. The Inquisition was the dark equivalent to the seed of democracy that was emerging with the Magna Charta of 1215, where the idea of liberation from authority was presented, with emphasis upon the personal liberty and rights of the individual.
King John signed the Magna Charta reluctantly and grudgingly, yet his advisor, Aymeric de St. Maur, Master of the Knights Templar Order in England, was most influential. The Knights Templar, along with the Cathars and Masons had been carriers of the Ageless Wisdom tradition, particularly in relation to the western Christian dispensation surrounding the Holy Grail. The Magna Carta document became the main reason why Pope Innocent III went after the Templars in Europe.
The Spanish Inquisition was established on November 1, 1478 – with Sun, Uranus and Neptune in Scorpio – and Mercury in Sagittarius; it was not abolished until 1834 and was regarded as the cruellest of all the inquisitions. It is amazing to reflect that these horrific deeds happened only a few centuries ago. Transiting Pluto (ruler of Scorpio) had just entered Libra at this time but tenanted both Scorpio and Sagittarius as the Spanish Inquisition gained some pace in the intervening years of 1490 to 1515.
In the table above, the Spanish Inquisition falls in the Sagittarian period, which happens to be the soul force of Spain, along with the sixth ray of devotion. Here is a good example of distorted soul force working through the personality of that nation and its extensive empire at that time. Spain is also conditioned by the sixth ray at the soul level, the ray that was nearing its withdrawal in 1625, hence it had a “double dose” of distorted soul force working through it, creating religious zealotry, the persecution and murder of millions of “heretics” – in the name of Christ, through Europe and Spain’s colonies in the Americas.
Spain’s soul dharma was certainly to be the Sagittarian explorer, planting the seeds of European culture in many areas of the planet. But as is so often the case with blunt and bruising Sagittarius (combined with the militant, martial sixth ray), their purpose was carried out in a clumsy and cruel manner, resulting in the slaughter of millions of Incans, Aztecs and Mayans – by conquistadors like Hernan Cortez (1485 – 1547) and Francisco Pizarro (1471 – 1541).
It is also worth bearing in mind that whilst these atrocities were occurring, Martin Luther made his proclamation during this Sagittarius sub-period in 1517. He rejected several teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and proposed an academic discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses of 1517. His refusal to renounce all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 resulted in his excommunication by the Pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Emperor. On his proclamation of October 31, 1517, Saturn was in Sagittarius, and transiting Venus and Mercury were conjunct his natal Mercury-Neptune (idealism) conjunction.
Also part of the European inquisitions was the persecution of so-called “witches” that had its climax between 1580 and 1630. An estimated total of 40,000-60,000 people were executed during the witch trials. A witch-hunt is a search for persons labelled “witches” or evidence of witchcraft, the casting of spells – some innocuous, others not. Witchcraft, black and white, was surely practiced but its presence was blown out of proportion by religious fervour and ignorance. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe took place between 1450 and 1750, resulting in an estimated 200,000 or more “witches” tortured, burnt or hanged from 1500 until around 1800.
Salem Witch trials by Joseph E. Baker, 1892.
Salem Witch Trials
Later on, these European persecutions were repeated at the infamous Salem Witch Trial in Massachusetts, USA – from February 1692 to May 1693. During that period in USA’s chart, transiting Saturn was passing through Sagittarius, as it is now. It is noteworthy that the USA horoscope for 1776 is Sagittarius rising, plus, USA is a sixth ray personality, hence the tendency to hysteria, religious extremism etc. Transiting Saturn passed over the Sagittarian ascendant at the peak of the trials before May 1693.
Many people were classified as “witches,” from those who were possessed or obsessed by various entities (“ghosts”), to some who practiced the “pagan” herbal medicine and earth arts, to others who simply did not conform to straight-laced puritan culture of the time. Those accused of witchcraft were portrayed as being worshipers of the Devil, who engaged in such acts as malevolent sorcery at meetings known as Witches’ Sabbaths. The one overall theme of those witch hunts was patriarchal religious superstition, ignorance and 
fear, projected by men upon women. Thousands of men however (1 in 4 “witches”), were accused and executed for “witchcraft”. Superstition is probably one of the biggest themes of Sagittarius and the sixth ray – in their lower expressions.
“The [Salem Witch Trial] episode is one of Colonial America’s most notorious cases of mass hysteria. It has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a vivid cautionary tale about the dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations, and lapses in due process. It was not unique, but a Colonial American example of the much broader phenomenon of witch trials in the early modern period, which took place also in Europe. Many historians consider the lasting effects of the trials to have been highly influential in subsequent United States history. According to historian George Lincoln Burr, “the Salem witchcraft was the rock on which the theocracy shattered.””2
This theme of “mass hysteria” and Sagittarius is linked to the hierarchical ruler Mars:
“Mars, ruling the sixth Creative Hierarchy, the lunar Lords (the elementals of the threefold personality) who have to be brought under the control of the solar Lord.”3
Perhaps a practical experience of this occurred in London recently when there was mass panic because everyone thought there had been a terrorist attack. The Sun had just entered Sagittarius and Mercury and Saturn are currently in the same sign. Mercury is about to turn retrograde in this sign for several weeks.
Monty Python.
Leonardo Da Vinci: Sagittarius Rising [1452 – 1519]
“Nothing that he touched but turned into a thing of eternal beauty. Whether it be the cross section of a skull, the structure of a weed, or a study of muscles, he, with his feeling for line and for light and shade, forever transmuted it into life-communicating values.”4
Leonardo da Vinci has been prominent recently through the sale of his Salvator Mundi for $450 million, a world record for a painting sold at auction. This high price was stated as a strong possibility in last month’s Scorpio newsletter, due to the prominence of Jupiter and Venus in the Christies auction event chart:
“The … Sun, Venus and Jupiter in Scorpio, the latter two in conjunction, Aphrodite and Jupiter, ruler of the Christ’s second ray of love-wisdom. Venus and Jupiter together indicates that the painting may sell for a very high price!”
In the auction chart those two planets were placed in the fifth house of speculation. The painting is a powerful rendition of the quality of the Christ force and will be an inspirational painting for millions of viewers, religious or non-religious. Yet a superb painter was one of Leonardo’s many skills:
“Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath whose areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. He has been variously called the father of palaeontology, ichnology, and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute, helicopter and tank, he epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal.
Many historians and scholars regard Leonardo as the prime exemplar of the “Universal Genius” or “Renaissance Man”, an individual of “unquenchable curiosity” and “feverishly inventive imagination”, and he is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived … the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent in recorded history, and “his mind and personality seem to us superhuman, while the man himself mysterious and remote”.5
Lois M. Rodden quotes “Leonardo da Vinci,” Reynal & Co., which cites a family diary, “A grandson of mine was born April 15, Saturday, three hours into the night.” As it was Florentine time and sunset was 6:40 PM, three hours after sunset would be c. 9:40 PM which was still April 14 by modern reckoning. The conversion to NS adds nine days = April 23 NS. PC gives 10:00 PM. Blackwell gives 9:46 PM.
The iconic Vitruvian man.
Due to Sagittarius’ penchant to know, understand and retain knowledge – transformed into Wisdom, they have often been dubbed (derogatorily) “know-alls”. There is nothing you cannot tell a know-all Sagittarian – or nothing worse than an opinionated Sagittarian with a fanatical adherence to ideas! Those with prominent Jupiter (Sag. ruler) in their horoscopes might be accused or judged similarly. In Leonardo’s case it was actually true – he knew all, or practically anything to which he turned his attention! The combination of Sagittarius rising soul purpose with his Sun in Taurus’ acquisitive knowledge was formidable.
What does the above quotation tell us about this “Universal Genius”? That his life was the full flower of many lifetimes and possibly his last incarnation, having reached the exalted stage of the fourth degree initiation – of Liberation, also known as The Renunciation?
“Since the year 1400 … there have been constant appearances of lesser avatars, called forth in response to minor crises, to national dilemmas and religious necessity. They have taken the form of those men and women who have championed successfully some truth or some right cause, some human right or correct human demand. All these people have worked actively upon the physical plane and seldom received recognition for what they truly were; only history, at a later date, laid emphasis upon their achievement.
But they changed the current of men’s thoughts; they pointed a way to a better life; they pioneered into new territories of human achievement. Such a one was Luther; another was Columbus; still others were Shakespeare and Leonardo da Vinci—to mention only four who so lived and thought and acted that they conditioned after events in some field of human living and are still recognised as pioneering souls, as leaders of men.”6
Not all of these personalities may have achieved da Vinci’s status, but Shakespeare, or more accurately, that other extraordinary polymath – Francis Bacon, probably did.7 Note the use of the term “lesser avatars” in the above passage. Just as Abraham Lincoln is esoterically regarded as a “racial avatar” and advanced initiate, so da Vinci was an avatar in the field of the arts and sciences. Da Vinci was a leader, reflected in his horoscope by the position of Pluto in Leo (nardo) square his Sun in Taurus – the king of his domain:
Lady with an Ermine
“The stimulation of certain people to phenomenal action, and the instigation of others to emerge as dynamic and inspired leaders, is also another way in which divine intervention might find expression … I refer not here specifically to spiritual leaders but also to leaders in other departments of human living—to such expressions of the divine will as Moses, the Lawgiver, Akbar, the warrior and student, Leonardo da Vinci, the inspired artist, and to other great and outstanding figures who have determined the basic trends of human civilisation … All these leaders have produced lasting effects upon the human consciousness …”8
Indeed, “lasting effects upon the human consciousness” – many of da Vinci’s futuristic inventions were not built in his time because the technological means had not been developed – and simply because of his prodigious output! His paintings, Salvator Mundi, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper – still illuminate and inspire through the centuries.
Leonardo was deeply interested in the psychology that
transformed human faces. The fourth ray of beauty –
and the beast! He sketched many “ugly” faces.
Esoteric Astrology is the Science of the Seven Rays, hence when considering any horoscope, a brief analysis of the rays present is always a valuable exercise. Da Vinci’s soul ray was most likely the fourth ray of Harmony through Conflict, also known as the ray of Art and Beauty – and the major ray that conditions Humanity as a whole:
“… the pure ray type does not as yet exist, for there is not to be found that perfect form, mechanism or expression of the ray quality, nor that absolutely purified appearance in the human family, except in such rare cases as the Buddha, or Christ, and (in another field of expression) an Alexander or Julius Caesar. Leonardo da Vinci was an analogous expression.”9
These figures were exemplars of various rays: Buddha and Christ of the second ray of Love-Wisdom, Alexander and Caesar, the first ray of Will-Power, da Vinci the fourth ray:
“… the so-called Ray of Harmony or Beauty is not the only ray upon which the creative worker is found. The mental body of every human being, at some time or another, is found upon the fourth ray and usually when the man is nearing the probationary path. This means that the mental vehicle is governed by an elemental of fourth ray nature or quality and that, therefore, creative, artistic activity is the line of least resistance. We then have a man with an artistic tendency or we have a genius along some line of creative work. When, at the same time, the soul or the personality is also upon the fourth ray, then we will find a Leonardo da Vinci or a Shakespeare.”10
A ray hypothesis could certainly posit a ray 4 soul and a ray 4 mind. However, given da Vinci’s extraordinary skill for scientific observation and invention, the fifth ray of Science is the most likely contender for the mental body. Therefore, Leonardo may have been one of those rare “pure ray types” – with soul and personality upon the fourth ray, which for 99.9% of humanity is an impossible combination.
| Soul 4 | Personality 4 | Mind 5 | Astral 2/6? | Physical 7 |
Etheric-physical was most likely Ray 7 of Ceremonial Order or Organisation. He was described as tall, athletic (Sagittarius) and extremely handsome. This might also fit a description of a seventh ray body:
“Leonardo DaVinci was said to be very good looking. This is said by one of DaVinci’s contemporaries of his physical appearance after his meeting DaVinci in Pavia: “He was very attractive. Well-proportioned, graceful, and good looking. He wore a short rose-pink tunic, knee length at a time when most people wore long gowns. He had beautiful curling hair, carefully styled, which came down to the middle of his chest.”
According to Giorgio Vasari, of his physical appearance: “In the normal course of events many men and women are born with various remarkable qualities and talents; but occasionally, in a way that transcends nature, a single person is marvellously endowed by heaven with beauty, grace and talent in such abundance that he leaves other men far behind… Everyone acknowledged that this was true of Leonardo da Vinci, an artist of outstanding physical beauty who displayed infinite grace in everything he did and who cultivated his genius so brilliantly that all problems he studied were solved with ease. He possessed great strength and dexterity; he was a man of regal spirit and tremendous breadth of mind…”11
Columbine
With so many perfections in his nature, one wonders if Leonardo was actually from this world! “Regal spirit” corresponds to the Leo in Leonardo. He was also a profound student of sacred geometry, one of the seventh ray’s characteristics – so prominent in artists (like Nicholas Roerich), with the ability to combine colour (4) with form (7). With such a potent expression of a proposed fourth ray soul and personality, it has a strong resonance with the fourth initiation, the stage of evolution that he may have reached in that life. Or was this master of the arts and sciences really a Master of Wisdom incarnate – a fifth degree initiate?
“Certain Members of the Hierarchy and, above all, the lesser Avatars, are inspired from “on high” by the cosmic Avatar and become at times direct expressions of His mind, His energy and His plans.”12
When the life of artist Paolo Veronese is considered, as a contemporary of da Vinci (and target of the Inquistion!), “The Venetian”13 is now the Chohan or custodian of the third ray, a sixth degree initiate no less; where might that place Leonardo now? And Veronese was “only” a painter! The year 1425 is esoterically regarded as the beginning of the cycle of the Third Ray of Active-Intelligence, the “mother ray” that births sub-cycles of the other rays. The 1425 date falls right in the middle of the Italian Renaissance (14th to 17th centuries), the earliest manifestation of the general European Renaissance. This third ray force, along with the fifth ray of science, both influence Italy’s mental field considerably.14
Paolo Veronese
(“The Venetian”)
There were probably many advanced initiates in incarnation during The European Renaissance, including such as figures as Michelangelo, Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Bruegel, Bosch, Durer, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Paracelsus, Bruno, Bacon, Cervantes, Donne, Ficino, Marlowe, Copernicus, More, Hobbes, Handl, Monteverdi, Palestrina, Tallis, Columbus, Brae, Drake, Polo etc.
Da Vinci came forth from the heart of Italy, a fourth ray personality with a sixth ray soul. He most likely entered with a group of other souls who had been a potent force in the Golden Age of Greece. Leo conditions Italy at the soul level, whilst Sagittarius (da Vinci’s soul purpose), conditions the personality expression. Curiously, both of da Vinci’s proposed soul energies of the fourth ray and Sagittarius, happen to be the personality forces of Italy. Nevertheless, his name Leo-nardo (“lion-brave”) hints at the Leo soul of the nation from which he emanated.
Note that Italy’s Leo soul works through Rome’s Leo personality.
Sagittarius Soul Purpose
With Sagittarius rising, da Vinci’s soul purpose was to be a visionary on behalf of humanity, a “cultural avatar”. Sagittarius is the archer pointing his arrows toward the goal and this was achieved by Leonardo many times. But there were also many projects that were left unfinished, a testament to the Gemini polarity of Sagittarius, of the diverse ideas that must have flooded his “all-seeing” mind, the grand panorama of Sagittarian expansive consciousness:
“In studying Sagittarius, it becomes obvious that one of the major underlying themes is that of Direction. The Archer is guiding his horse towards some one specific objective; he is sending or directing his arrow towards a desired point; he is aiming at some specific goal. This sense of direction or guidance is characteristic of the enlightened man, of the aspirant and disciple, and this is a growing recognition; when this faculty of sensitive direction is rightly developed it becomes, in the early stages, an effort to identify all soul and personality activity with God’s Plan, and this is, in the last analysis, the ordered direction of God’s thought. There is no true direction apart from thought, and I would have you remember that thought is power.”15
Jupiter is the ruler of his rising sign and also of Pisces where it is placed, closely conjunct the Moon. There is his vast scope of knowledge and understanding, with Jupiter in Pisces – the great ocean of consciousness, conjunct a sensitive Moon in Pisces, indicative of past lifetimes of learning. Neptune, the other ruler of Pisces, dominates the horoscope from the midheaven; it is also at the point of a yod or “finger of destiny” from the Sun and Moon. Neptune is not only a planet of the imagination, it is the source of buddhi or intuition, which is the province of those who have reached the exalted fourth degree. Imagination is the lower reflection of the intuition, one evokes the other.
Taurus Personality
This Moon-Jupiter conjunction also harmoniously aspects his Taurus Sun and Earth in Scorpio directly opposite, the soul ruler of his rising sign Sagittarius. Hence his Sagittarius soul purpose is potently linked to Taurus Sun personality expression. This formation is called the “easy opposition”, the harmonious aspects relieving the tension of the opposition. Earth in Scorpio is the soul ruler of Sagittarius and is along with Saturn, the co-ruler of the throat centre, seat of the mental body. Hence, Earth in Scorpio represents da Vinci’s penetrating mind blended with intuition, aided of course by his fifth ray mental field.
Yet this opposition is really a T-square with the apex point at Pluto in Leo. With his Taurus Sun square to Pluto in Leo, da Vinci was integrating the energy of will and power into his Taurean personality, also a sign of great power. This Pluto in Leo first ray potency would have helped him essentialise and cut to the heart of the matter. It also reflects da Vinci’s many powerful friends who were rulers of Italy, like Cesare Borgia and the Medici’s. In the latter’s case it was rumoured that in 1480 he was living with the Medici and working with a Neo-Platonic academy of artists, poets and philosophers in Florence. All these figures were at the heart of the Italian/European Renaissance.
Leonardo’s Taurus Sun is potent both artistically and scientifically. Venus, the goddess of beauty and art is the ruler of Taurus, so prominent in the horoscopes of artists like Salvador Dali and Picasso. Therefore, Venus placed here amplifies the Taurean expression of beauty and art, the name of the fourth ray, the only ray to pass through the Taurus-Scorpio axis.
The incomparably beautiful “Baptism of Christ”.
Venus sextiles Uranus in Cancer, bringing in the inventive, innovative forces of Uranus, complimenting Leonardo’s (Uranus-ruled) seventh ray qualities. Venus is also trine to Neptune in Venus-ruled Libra, the best possible combination for a visionary artist and one who aspires to connect with the divine. As stated earlier, Neptune is on the midheaven – his career, work and public perception – a mysterious fellow! Related to the mystery of Neptune and visual appearances, is the shadowy quality renowned in the Mona Lisa that came to be called “sfumato”, or Leonardo’s smoke.
The scientific side of Leonardo’s Taurus sun concerns two factors: (1) Taurus is a sign of almost insatiable acquisition – of material, physical things or higher knowledge. (2) Taurus ruler Venus is the ruler of the fifth ray of science, arguably his mental ray. Da Vinci’s Taurus Sun also recalls another initiate, the priest and scientist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) who studied and practiced paleontology, theology, and philosophy – he had seven planets in Taurus!
Verrocchio’s bronze “David.”
Some believe the model in the sketch of
David’s pose is a 16 year-old Leonardo.
Beyond friendship, Leonardo kept his private life secret. His sexuality has been the subject of satire, analysis, and speculation. His Taurus sun occupies the fifth house of his horoscope, known as the “mansion of the soul”, higher creativity and romance. It has been claimed that Leonardo was homosexual because of an incident when he was nineteen, where he and three others were charged with sodomy.
This may or may not have been true of youthful skylarks, and his Taurus-Scorpio emphasis could be construed as having some sexual issues. But the author’s impression is that Leonardo was asexual for most of his life, even though he had mainly male companions and produced so-called “homoerotic drawings” – the latter of which seems to be a stretch of some imaginations. Leonardo sketched and painted almost everything!
Possible self portrait.
He may have been bi-sexual when he was younger, experimenting or recapitulating sexual relations with both genders. (A good article here about his sexuality.) But here was a man who was almost entirely occupied with higher thought and its many manifestations, the higher creative process and the Mystery Schools. The androgynous nature of both Mona Lisa and Salvator Mundi suggest that he had achieved an inner union that transcended sex. The raising of energies from the sacral to the throat centre had probably been completed in a previous life at the third initiation. On this note and in relation to Leonardo’s Sagittarian ascendant,
“We are told that Sagittarius governs the thighs, which are the main centre of physical power and protective strength, and also the sacral centre which provides the energy for the use of the creative powers of the physical life. This is also symbolically true. In Sagittarius, the disciple has two things to discover within himself; these are the power to make progress upon the path and to walk the Way, and also the ability to create in the higher and spiritual sense. This concerns the relationship between the sacral and the throat centres. These powers (the higher powers) are as yet embryonic in the earlier Sagittarian experience of the disciple, but they become more developed and potent as he cyclically returns to life experience in this sign.”16
A reproduction of a lyre made from a silver
plated horse’s skull that Leonardo made for .
Note from this passage that there are three signs in a sequence concerned with sex: Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius.
Vulcan is the soul ruler of Taurus, enabling Leonardo to be the “smithy” at his forge/workshop, building scientific inventions, sketching, writing or painting. Vulcan was most likely placed in Taurus as well (said to be about 8 degrees either side of the Sun) – giving a vast range of technical skills like drafting, chemistry, metallurgy, metal working, plaster casting, leather working, mechanics and carpentry; also the artistic skills of drawing, painting, sculpting and modelling. Taurus is the “mother of illumination” and he was most definitely an illuminated being! Italy’s capital Rome is a Taurus soul, adding the potency of the first ray and its dynamic leadership (Leo) of the European Renaissance:
“Italy: Ray 1 — Will or Power, via Vulcan, the forger and the worker in metals whose influence in this case closely associates itself with the undeveloped aspect of the Leonian influence.”17
Leonardo wrote that some days he would paint from dawn till dusk without stopping to eat and then not paint for three or four days at a time. This is indicative of someone totally absorbed in their work – deep meditation. His Taurus Sun comes to mind again, with its plodding, ponderous perseverance and persistence, like a bullock that drags the plough around the rice paddy from dawn to dusk.
Study for the Adoration of the Magi.
Taurus is a sign of music, ruling the ears and organs of speech or singing. According to Vasari, Leonardo was a talented musician and created a silver lyre in the shape of a horse’s head. He was an acclaimed virtuoso on this lira da braccio that he loved to accompany himself as he sang improvised poetry! Was there anything this man could not do? The fourth ray is not only the ray of music and poetry, but also architecture – another discipline in which he excelled.
Saturn in Libra
This skill for architecture, draftsmanship and map-making derives from Leonardo’s Saturn in Libra. Saturn’s exaltation in this Venus-ruled sign, allows for the construction of the template, the blueprint or plan; it combines structure of form with beauty and elegance. Leonardo was the most prolific draftsman, keeping journals full of small sketches and detailed drawings recording all manner of things that took his attention.
Saturn in Libra is opposed by Mercury in Aries. Mercury is the soul ruler of Aries and is another major significator for buddhi or intuitive thinking. As Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, Mercury’s position here not only represents rapid thought processes, but serves as the Messenger between spirit and matter. Saturn rules the throat centre, seat of the mental body, hence Mercury’s intuitive, quicksilver ideas are manifested through the practicality of both Saturn and Libra. Mercury and Saturn are also said to be prominent at the fourth initiation, where they “bring about great changes and unique revelation”.18
Saturn in Libra occupies the tenth house of career, work and public perception – where it is “accidentally dignified”, adding to the power of its exaltation, his prominence during the Renaissance. Furthermore, Saturn is part of a grand trine formation with Chiron in Gemini (a mind teeming with curiosity and ideas) and Mars in Aquarius.
Sagittarius the Archer: Drawing for giant crossbow by Leonardo da Vinci, Sagittarius rising.
Mars in Aquarius
Mars is the hierarchical ruler of Leonardo’s Sagittarian soul purpose and thus, for such an advanced soul, represents his highest potentials. One of the achievements of Mars as the highest ruler of Sagittarius is, “War to the death of the personality or form.”19 Death of the ego.
The other achievement of hierarchical ruler Mars, is reflected in da Vinci’s life work as a scientist and an innovator. Although Mars rules the solar plexus and is connected to the desire nature, it also rules the five finite senses, hence modern science that measures, weighs and observes what is tangible. Mars’ emotional energy is well tamed in cerebral Aquarius, regarded as a sign of science, ruled by the planet Uranus, “… the planet whose characteristics are the scientific mind.”20
Hence Mars in Aquarius was a driving force behind Leonardo’s profuse productions, especially in the realm of science – for which he has much less popular credit than his art. Again, we might reflect here upon Neptune on the midheaven and its emotional appeal to the masses through his art. Science for the masses at that time and even now, is a much “drier” proposition.
Mars in Aquarius tenants the second house of assets and possessions, material or spiritual, so harmoniously guided by its trine to Saturn in Libra. An excellent example of his many feats of combining science and art was his anatomical drawings or topographic anatomy, drawing many studies of muscles, tendons and other visible anatomical features. As a successful artist, he was given permission to dissect human corpses at a hospital in Florence.
Mars in Aquarius, as the God of War war in a sign of science, was undoubtedly a strong influence for the war machines that Leonardo invented or speculated upon. In 1499, Leonardo fled Milan for Venice, where he was employed as a military architect and engineer, devising methods to defend the city from naval attack. He invented engines of war and built bridges and chariots as an engineer in the science of artillery and sieges. Other military inventions (realised or unrealised), included multi-barrelled canons, a triple-barrel canon, the helicopter, parachute, armoured car, a gigantic crossbow, a robotic knight (!), a revolving bridge for armies, scuba gear, the military tank, a ship with a sickle (The “Scorpion”!), a trench excavator, an escalator for scaling enemy walls etc. etc. (Too many to list – see this link for more pictures and descriptions.)
“His studies in science and engineering are sometimes considered as impressive and innovative as his artistic work. These studies were recorded in 13,000 pages of notes and drawings, which fuse art and natural philosophy (the forerunner of modern science). They were made and maintained daily throughout Leonardo’s life and travels, as he made continual observations of the world around him.
In the 1490’s he studied mathematics under Luca Pacioli and prepared a series of drawings of regular solids in a skeletal form to be engraved as plates for Pacioli’s book De divina proportione, published in 1509.”21 This most likely occurred when seventh ray ruler Uranus, entered its own sign of Aquarius from 1493 to 1500.
“Within Leonardo’s lifetime, his extraordinary powers of invention, his “outstanding physical beauty”, “infinite grace”, “great strength and generosity”, “regal spirit and tremendous breadth of mind”, as described by Vasari, as well as all other aspects of his life, attracted the curiosity of others. One such aspect was his respect for life, evidenced by his vegetarianism and his habit, according to Vasari, of purchasing caged birds and releasing them.”22
On this latter theme, Leonardo wrote a Codex on the Flight of Birds examining the flight behavior of birds and proposed mechanisms for flight by machines. Leonardo constructed a number of these machines, and attempted to launch them from a hill near Florence but his efforts failed. Nevertheless, the aerodynamics of his plans were confirmed as correct many centuries later. Flight is a particular jurisdiction of Aquarius, where his Mars is placed.
Another strange skill of Leonardo’s was “mirror writing” – with his left hand, writing from right to left across the page – but with all the letters reversed, so that they could only be deciphered by using a mirror. Apparently he wrote most of his personal notes this way, only using standard writing if he intended his texts to be read by others. He was also ambidextrous, being able to write and draw with both hands – significant with his Mercury-ruled Chiron in Gemini, the Twins. Gemini rules the hands and is of course the polar opposite of his Sagittarius ascendant.
The purpose of this practice by Leonardo remains unknown but it alludes to his genius and the balance of the brain hemispheres, as well as mind and intuition, or manas-buddhi. This would be reflected in a very powerful ajna or brow chakra, one side of which is ruled by Venus (manas) and the other Mercury (intuition) – continually at work with higher creativity. This balance is also found in the aforementioned Mercury (intuition) opposite Saturn (mind).
“By writing and reading text in a different direction than those around him, Leonardo’s brain became adept at interpreting information in new and unusual ways. Coupled with the balanced use of both hands, the rich network of connections between brain cells may have encouraged novel ideas and unique perspectives that could be applied to almost any field.”23
This completes a brief glimpse of this extraordinary soul, esoteric volumes could be written on the life and works of Leonardo da Vinci. May his life, innovation and art inspire and uplift us!
The Last Supper.
(The moment Jesus said, “one of you will betray me”.)
“Leonardo da Vinci’s great picture of the communion in the upper room is the great symbol of the Aquarian age, for we shall sit down together under the loving direction of Christ when brotherhood will be established and men will be banded together in the bonds of divine relationship. The old barriers between man and man and nation and nation will, during the next 2,000 years slowly disappear.”24
Unveiling Genesis: Mysteries of the Rootraces and Cycles
This companion book to The Hidden History of Humanity video is now available on Amazon.
For those in the USA only, you can order copies directly from the author, so please use the email for this newsletter for enquiries about postage and payment.
The HHH video has had 750,000 hits in the past three months, and will hit the one million mark soon! The HHH video can be found on the author’s YouTube channel – that now has several other videos and previews added.
(Donations for the HHH video can be made here.)
SUBTITLES For those who have enquired lately, subtitle translation for the HHH video is underway in several languages. Half of the Italian version is completed, translation volunteers are needed for the second half. Spanish translation is finished and somebody versed in subtitling software is needed. Russian translation will be forthcoming in the next few months and this may also extend to the book, Unveiling Genesis.
Phillip Lindsay © 2017.
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Books by Phillip Lindsay
- Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. p.170. [↩]
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials [↩]
- Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. p.187. [↩]
- Berenson, Bernard (1896). “The Italian Painters of the Renaissance”. [↩]
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci. [↩]
- The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, Alice A. Bailey. p.297. [↩]
- Masters of the Seven Rays, Phillip Lindsay. [↩]
- The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, Alice A. Bailey. p.260. [↩]
- Esoteric Psychology I, Alice A. Bailey. p.73. [↩]
- Esoteric Psychology II, Alice A. Bailey. p.293. [↩]
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci [↩]
- The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, Alice A. Bailey. p.308. [↩]
- David Anrias, Through the Eyes of the Masters, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London & Henley, 1932, p. ix. [↩]
- The Destiny of the Nations, Alice A. Bailey. p.87. [↩]
- Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. p.190. [↩]
- Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. p.191. [↩]
- The Destiny of the Nations, Alice A. Bailey. p.87. [↩]
- Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. p.70. [↩]
- Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. p.187. [↩]
- Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. p.224. [↩]
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci. [↩]
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci. [↩]
- http://michaelbalchan.com/davinciwriting/?hvid=3xsKQB. [↩]
- The Unfinished Biography, Alice A. Bailey. p.233. [↩]
An excellent newsletter Phillip, thank you.