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Message: <blockquote data-quote="piercethevale" data-source="post: 1043990" data-attributes="member: 5785">I haven't heard of this author before, so this is all new to me.I read a bit of the text before He gets into his presentation of the symbols and his commentaries on them.He's  not bad, I'll give him that mcuh credit at this point in time... so far... as  it will take a good deal more study to come to a full evaluation.Intersesting, particularly, what I found in the text before the presentation of the symbols was this passage... [Quote} "This has a major influence upon how we manage to embody the Sabian mystery of any planet. Someone with Sun at Taurus 16 will inevitably be tenacious – but if that Sun has a Pluto square, and if the person had a violent father, then that tenacity could be obsessional and self-defeating, rather than a helpful, spiritual statement of determination. "[Unquote] Why it is so interesting to me is that my natal Sun is at 16* Taurus 14' 33" and it is square my natal Pluto at 29* Leo 48' 06"... although He is referring to the degree before, as my Sun is in the 17th degree of Taurus, although I had a very loving father, and mother too, for that matter.Yet, I also have a natal Desc. at 17* Taurus 07' 04", and thus Sun conjunct Desc. by less than a one degree orb of aspect, yet they are of different Sabian Symbols.What I found lacking for his commentary of the Sabian for the 17th degree of Taurus, is that He didn't given an adequate enough explanation as to what the Sword and the Torch in the symbol are representative of. The Sword, he relates to "the mind", while Rudhyar states it as being representative of "the Ego" and the battle is between the Ego and the Soul, whereas this author prefers to use the term 'Spirit" rather than the "Soul"... and there is a difference. We possess both a Spirit and a Soul, but it is only the Soul that is eternal, that is a spark of God's Eternal Light and that Light is One with the bij, the Logos, the "Word in the Beginning" and it is the Soul that must eventually over come the egoHere's Dane's presentation of the Sabian Symbol and his commentary, analysis, and summation for the 17th degree of Taurus so that you can compare it to what the author Burgess wrote, From Rudhyar's book on the Sabian Symbols, "An Astrological Mandala, The Cycle of Transformation and its 360 Symbolic Phases" " A SYMBOLICAL BATTLE BETWEEN "SWORDS" AND "TORCHES." KEYNOTE: Refusing to depend upon the past, the seeker turns warrior, fighting anew the eternal "Great War".  When Gautama, having sought in vain for the answers to his questions among the teachers of tradition, sat under the Bodhi Tree, he had to fight his own battle in his own way, even though it is an eternal fight. The spiritual light within the greater Soul must struggle against the ego-will that only knows how to use the powers of this material and intellectual world. There is no possibility of escape; it is the energy that arises out of the present moment — the inescapable NOW — that the daring individual has to use in the struggle. This second stage symbol suggests that salvation is attained through the emergent individual's readiness to face all issues as if there were only two opposed sides. So teaches the Bhagavad-Gita. This is the dharma of this stage of human evolution: a stage of POLARIZATION OF VALUES." Did you notice in particular what Dane wrote, " The spiritual light within the greater Soul must struggle against the ego-will that only knows how to use the powers of this material and intellectual world." because THAT is the essential gist of this particular symbol...if not the entire 360 of them...as these symbols can be read in either direction as their being of acycle of transformation. The one, from Aries 01* to Pisces 30* is what will trap one in Maya, that which the Buddha, himself, was seeking to escape. The other begins at Virgo 30* and culminates at Libra 01* and it is a cycle of transformation that is a cycle leading to spiritual evolution, the liberation  of ones Soul from Maya, this world of materiality, this world of illusion.If this author of this other book makes no mention of the fact that there are two different means by which to follow these symbols, two different directions from two different starting points, then I will highly recommend that one should only use this other authors book in a supplementary manner. Because if He makes no mention of this at all, then He really hasn't come to understand the Symbols themselves... I'm not saying that He might not give an adequate presentation and commentary, and He may even give a better one than Rudhyar on some of the symbols, but if he hasn't realized the dual nature within the entire set of symbols as a whole, then He has missed the bigger picture altogether, and that's treading on thin ice, imho.As to what He wrote for the following degree, that of the 18th degree of Taurus, as it is my Desc., and thus it is the "WHERE_TO" or as I sometimes find it to be a bit more appropriate to say, the "WHOM-TO" of my chart axis, [the Asc. represents "WHO" one is in a natal chart and the life that person has been given has the Desc.'s symbolsim as their goal, the M.C. and I.C. give the symbolism for as to "HOW" that is to be accomplished, and "WHY" it must be, and "WHY" it must be done as to the "HOW" as given in that symbolism.As Dane gave for the Sabian Symbol found for the 18th degree of Taurus [ibid.]"A WOMAN AIRING AN OLD BAG THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW OF HER ROOM. KEYNOTE: The cleansing of the ego-consciousness. In this third stage of the present sequence the first two stages should be considered background. The traditional teachings concerning man's nature are somehow reconciled with the youthful enthusiasm that sees in every problem of growth an issue between the 'good' and the 'bad'. The symbol suggests that the real enemy is within the mind; it is the ego and its attachment to possessions. The mind is shown in the likeness of a 'bag', now empty and needing to be aired in the sunlight. But the "window" must first be opened and the bag emptied. The phrase 'cleansing the doors of perception' has become well known of late. But even more to be cleansed is the container of perceptual images — i.e. the ego mind. The Keyword is PURIFICATION."You see, the "ego" must be cleansed before the Soul can successfully win the battle mentioned in the Sabian Symbol for the 17th degree of Taurus. It's why many yogis on the spiritual path to conquer the illusion of Maya and free themselves from the material realm become Sunyasi...of which in India there are many. [The Hindu ascetics are called as such, the Buddhists that do the same are known as Bhikkhus, and some Christian Monks and Nuns as well] The have no material possessions, some won't even wear clothes, They beg for their meals, and only when hungry. If you are, or were raised as, a Christian or even if you are maybe only just familiar with Christianity enough, then you probably know of the account of the wealthy man that asked Yeshu'a/Jesus of Nazareth as to how he might then enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and if so, then you very likely know what Yeshu'a's/Jesus' answer was in reply. That is, "Give away all your worldly goods and then follow me."I hope this has helped you to conclude for yourself as to which of the two authors, here in comparison, is the one you will want to consult first when  consulting the Sabian Symbols... and you may find that you will only want to consult exclusively too.</blockquote>

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