EPIPHANY

The Star in the East

The three kings - the Adoration of the Magi

The Divine Manifestation

The Crown of Life

Epiphany, celebrated on the church calendar on January 6 (or Jan 19 in the Julian calendar) can be extended as our ancestors would have done in days of yore when traveling on foot, camel and mule ... and as we are wont to do when entering non-linear "Kairos time" ... for the times and "seasons" that know not time ... at least in the worlds we have been traveling.

◊ Breathe in the Breath of Life …. Pouring through all the Centers …. Sounding the Sacred WORD OM

◊ Link with the Soul Star Group who has walked this journey together as One.

◊ Attune with the Angels of Epiphany

◊ Breathe in the Life-Breath of the Christ as the Saving Force

Sound a Silent OM

Let us now enter into the magical realm of Epiphany through the doorway of Story and our innate capacity to contemplate the sacred. Entering magical space, we move into new depths of sacred feeling through the radiant heart inspired by words, and sounds and images that open wide the doors to new perception. Let us invoke the HOLY Presence, filling our higher senses, bringing the freedom of Spirit that lives beyond the world of form — where the formless worlds reveal naught but beauty, song and deepening silence.

Let us Be with the Magi — Masters of Love-Wisdom — "the efflorescence of the human race". We see the Holy Family signifying Humanity achieving it's destiny. Let us see the Signs in the Heavens — communicating with Them as living Beings in the vast Entity we have come to know as Space. Let us communicate with each other as Holy Companions upon the Way. And let us identify the Crown of Glory — the Glory of the One as the Potential we will someday "Be” in fact and in Truth.

EPIPHANY

If we understand Epiphany and the story of the Magi from the perspective of the archetypal inner worlds (the inner spheres) that stand ever behind physical manifestation — then this ancient Story will come alive with import, meaning and spiritual significance. Spiritual understanding is essential to our unfoldment as Souls to fulfill our ‘purpose on earth’. As we walk through the magical story of the Magi and the significant Stars for Earth that light the Heavens , let us hold high in mind the high and sacred meaning of Epiphany and Three Kings Day as a season.

Epiphany – the word originally referred to “insight” through the divine… It is a sudden discovery “following the process of significant labor” – the birth that follows labor. It is a manifestation, appearance, and sudden realization or comprehension ...

O traveler upon the way, how have you labored? How have you spent your days? Have you loved? Have you served? Have you deepened your vision? Have you sought the Truth? Have your brought Peace to earth and Joy to your contacts? Have you penetrated the Mystery? It is written in the hall of records — “you have labored in all these ways”.

Ever the law holds true — as we labor in the joy and path-way of the Soul, the Angels of the Lord draw near with aid, constructive power and soul wishes fulfilled.

As ye sow, so shall ye reap. Grace and joy of the higher worlds meet the living … as true and real as the Holy breath that breathes through You now.

Know this — the fruits of thy soul labors are sweet as the honeycomb to the Mother of the World, and the Lord of Love knows your Heart.

OM

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The Gifts of the Magi

– Light, Love and Holy Will –

They set their faces to Bethlehem, the house of bread - where they would find their spiritual nourishment in the presentation of the newborn Christ. They came to Give Good Gifts and to Worship (adore, revere, venerate, devote, to love) the Being Who would come as Redeemer of the world, the Being Who had come to bring Greater Gifts – the Saving Force, the principle of Universal Love, the “first rays” of God, and a new teaching for the saving and progress of man. A new Day had begun for the story of man.

The Three Wise Kings carried with them gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh to lay before the feet of the Christ as symbols of a purified and alchemized inner life – the inner forces of our nature – purified, made whole and consecrated to the Christ within.

Who are the Magi? Many are the meanings.

They are the Holy Witnesses Who came to see the birth of Light and Love in human form, Who would later bear the mark of the Christ flooding the earth from the Center where the Love of God is known — releasing Love upon and through the Earth as never before, making all things new.

They are the Knowers of the Plan of God writ in the starry heavens above – potentates (mighty Kings) — sovereigns of a new Order.

They are a Triune Presence— a pattern of wholeness and perfection refracted into the lower worlds and in the human microcosm for unfolding the Life Divine.

They are ourselves, the Triune Self emanating from the One Life, reflecting the perfect pattern of the divine triplicity in the body Temple — bearing radiant Light, pure Love and Holy Will Power of Love Divine.

The Three Kings in Orion's belt point to the star Sirius, the brightest star in our visible heavens, depicting what "is come". The birth of Christ occurred in Capricorn and refers to the star of Initiation, Sirius.

The Star Sirius, “star of sensitivity” and Initiation, denotes the maturing of Christhood and communicates a divine potency to those who can receive its pure emanations, who can hear its pure high note, who can recognize and read the signs of a Sun God born upon the Earth. He comes bearing God’s Gifts — gifts for the Earth and a new Humanity.

Saturn and Jupiter were conjunct during the birth of Jesus, appearing as one bright light in the night sky. This is the Star they followed, beheld in the heavens rising in the eastern horizon — symbol for the place of ‘divine manifestation’.

◊ CONTEMPLATE one or all of the following:

‘Unto them who overcometh will I give the bright and morning Star’ – the Star of Christhood.

‘They who leadeth many unto righteousness (virtues incorruptible) will shine as the Stars in the Firmament’.

The Christed One wears the Crown of Glory — achievement of Soul linked with Spirit transmitting the gift waves and powers of Spirit.

OM

“At the time of the birth of Christ, Sirius, the Star in the East, was on the meridian line. Orion, called "The Three Kings" by oriental astronomers, was in proximity. Therefore the constellation Virgo, the Virgin, was rising in the east, and the line of the ecliptic, of the equator and of the horizon all met in that constellation. …. In the sun's journey around the zodiac, the "Man of the Heavens" eventually arrives at Pisces; this sign is exactly opposite the sign Virgo, and is the sign of all world Saviours. ... the age of Christianity is the Piscean Age and Christ came to the Holy Land when our sun transited into that sign". That which was started and had its growth in Virgo, is birthed as the Christ Child in Capricorn, and is consummated in Pisces when that Christ Child, having attained maturity, comes forth as the world Saviour." (From Bethlehem to Calvary, (FBTC), 151/2 by Alice A. Bailey)

"The sign of Christmas is a star, a light in darkness. See it not outside yourself, but shining in the Heaven within and accept it as the sign the time of Christ has come. " (A Course in Miracles (ACIM))

"When Christ came, ... those of vision were prepared and said, "We have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him." This was the Sign given to the few who were ready, and who had made the necessary journey to Bethlehem…"

"Here was a sign given to Those Watching Ones, two or three, who were ready to consecrate their all, who perceived the star of initiation [Sirius] flashing forth and hastened to the initiation chamber." (FBTC, 72)

◊ CONTEMPLATE: “… Christ Himself tells us there is in us a light, and that it too must blaze forth for the helping of the world and the glorification of our Father which is in Heaven. To this light the mystics testify, and it is this light into which they enter, and which enters into them, revealing the light which is latent and drawing it forth to potency. "In Thy light shall we see light." This is the outstanding fact of scientific mysticism. God is light as well as life. This the mystic has proved, and to this he eternally testifies.” (FBTC)

"Sirius – the great star of Initiation is esoterically called the "brilliant star of sensitivity”. As the initiate is made ready to receive this light, he becomes sensitive to its pristine energy.

"Sirius is the seat of higher mind, and mahat (as it is called, or universal mind) sweeps into manifestation in our solar system through the channel of the Pleiades. It is ... as if a great triangle of mahatic energy was thus formed.

Sirius transmits energy to our solar system via that "...sevenfold brooding Mother, the silver constellation, whose voice is as a tinkling bell, and whose feet pass lightly o'er the radiant path between our worlds and Hers." (Treatise on Cosmic Fire (TCF), 1258). The significance of the Divine Mother — the Divine Feminine, settles into mind through the words of the Ageless Wisdom Teachings, bringing wholeness.

... "the starry heavens, the solar system and the planetary spheres are all of them the manifestations of great spiritual Lives, and the interrelation between these embodied Lives is as real and effectual as is the relation between members of the human family." (Externalization of the Hierarchy (EOH) by DK/AAB, 416)

“... Another sign was seen by the many, and given by the angel of the Lord to the shepherds who were watching in the fields by night. "And this shall be a sign unto you, Ye shall find the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." The larger number, who were interested and watching, needed a more concrete and more easily interpreted sign and were sent to see the infant with his mother. Their attitude is expressed in the words, "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass." But the three who understood came to worship and to give." ◊ CONTEMPLATE

"The gifts they brought teach us the specific type of discipline which must be undergone in order to present to the Christ ... gifts which will be symbolic of achievement. ..." — "The gifts they brought teach us the specific type of discipline which must be undergone in order to **present to the Christ ... gifts which will be symbolic of achievement**. ..."

"When they saw this star shine forth, the three Kings undertook a journey and, laden with gifts, came to Bethlehem. They are symbols of those disciples in the world today who are ready to prepare themselves for the “first initiation” (the third and true First Sirian Initiation) to transmute their knowledge into wisdom, and to offer all that they have to the Christ within.

"…Man is a three-fold person in his human nature - physical, emotional and mental. …These three parts of man are offered … as free gifts to the "Christ within" before that Christ can demonstrate through the disciple and initiate…"

Through the alchemy of the Soul, our lives are purified and made ‘golden’ as the purifying fires of the Soul render the mind, emotions and body into a pure instrument — turning the lead of the lower nature into pure gold — revealing the rising sun on the Mountain Top for the reign of Spirit.

On the material plane, "gold is a symbol of the material nature, which must be consecrated to the service of God and of man." ◊ See a world where Gold is thus consecrated to the service of God and Man.

"Frankincense symbolizes the emotional nature, with its aspirations, wishes and longing, and this aspiration must rise as incense to the feet of God.” Incense purifies, burns and removes the dross leaving “only the essence for the blessing of God”. ◊ Ask for your higher aspirations to be blessed.

“Myrrh or bitterness relates to the mind. It is through the mind that we suffer as human beings, and the further the race progresses and the more the mind develops, the greater seems the capacity for suffering. But when suffering is seen in its true light and dedicated to divinity, it can be used as an instrument whereby we approach nearer to God. Then we can offer to God that rare and wonderful gift of a mind made wise ..." Bitterness results from rejecting Love in the mind and a fuller comprehension of Truth. A pure mind, a whole mind is a God Mind. True discrimination, and spiritual discernment make the mind sweet, love-filled, true and whole. Let us offer to “God that rare and wonderful gift of a Soul mind, made wise.” ◊ CONTEMPLATE “a pure mind, a whole mind, a God Mind.”

"As we study the meaning of these three gifts ... and as we see their meaning as it applies to our individual situation, it becomes equally apparent that today humanity, as a race, stands [before Christ] in the House of Bread [Bethlehem], at the end of a long journey, and can now offer, if it so will, the gifts of material life, of purification through the fires of adversity, and of the [tests and trials] to which it has been subjected. … Gold must be consecrated to the Christ. Frankincense, the dreams and visions and aspirations of the multitude, so real and deep that the nations everywhere are struggling for the expression of these dreams—these too must be dedicated and offered to the Christ, that He may ‘be all in all’. (FBTC, 73/4) ◊ LET US CONTEMPLATE the purpose and realization of these gifts leading to ‘Christ Being All in All’ — individually, in groups and in all of Humanity.

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“The shepherds refer to those great Shepherds of Souls who are the perfected ones of our Earth, humanity’s Elder Brethren, the rare efflorescence of the human race. The apostle Paul writes of them as the “just men made perfect” (Heb. 12:23), and displays in many ways a knowledge of the mystical meaning of the Gospel story. ... whenever a human being reaches the evolutionary stage at which the Christ power is born within, he or she is drawn into the presence of these Great Ones of the Earth, humankind’s seniors in evolution. A great ceremonial is performed in their presence after divine assent has been received. The shepherds are therefore included in the story to make of it also a description of what is called the initiation of the human being.” (Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible by Geoffrey Hodson, 173)

CONTEMPLATION:

The three aspects of Divinity - Divine Mind, Divine Love/Heart, Divine Will are revealed by the Perfect One — the Divine Immortal Whose realization bears witness in the crown of realized Divinity.

Creation unfolds through the face and hands and feet of the HOLY ONE — the Holy Creator shines with the Blackness of Divinity, a Light so bright having absorbed all Light into Itself.

“He who sees in the dark light of Shamballa penetrates to that which lies beyond our little sphere to that which can be sensed behind the holy triangle (Venus, Mercury, the Earth, A.A.B.). There is to be found the point of radiant fire which shines within the eye (Taurus), which burns upon the mountain-top (Capricorn) and which the water cannot quench (Aquarius). These are the holiest three." [Page 594] Esoteric Astrology

To the STAR — the synthesized Crown of Glory, all are attracted.

The Star rising in the East is the Christhood arising for all upon the conscious Initiatory path.

Oriented to the sacred Star rising in the East of our Being … we find the star that shines eternal, a holy fire burning in the Heavens, a Sacred Heart, the eternal Christ within — heralding its Presence for Earth Humanity.

◊ Let us CONTEMPLATE the inner Star that shines eternal.

OM

◊ Attuning once again with the Soul Star Group (SSG) as a whole, let us stand in the Fire of Love that is the Field of the Christ — and the great Luminaries surrounding Him.

For those who choose, Name in Love the Names of We Who have here gathered — and the sacred places of Where On Earth we Live (upon which we stand) — or hold the SSG as one whole in the radiant Field of the spiritual Hierarchy.

◊ Today, on this Holy Day of Epiphany we extend all our labors of ascent poured into the chalice of the Group Soul — as a Blessing far into the world, and far into the future. Epiphany connotes the spiritual Achievement of the soul after much labor — revealing the synthesis of a great light illumining the mind, a great love infusing the heart, a great Will radiating the purpose of the Soul — that together are a synthesis and impress of 12 Lights, a consummating glory bringing gifts of revelation and realization.

“The nearer a Disciple approaches the Kingdom of God, “the glory and blessedness intensify”. The powers of God within become ever greater as the Soul achieves height after height in vibrational ascent.

The Wine of God which fills life’s cup is stronger as Life takes onto Herself “the crown of the Immortals.” It is “life more abundant” for the one who drinks abundantly. It is life growing and unfolding “from glory to glory the more abundantly it is realized”.

The Wine of Christhood: “I have said unto men, ye are Gods; ye are all in the Image of the most High.” (The Master — His Life and Teachings, JTF)

◊ In the year ahead, we extend the Crown of Light into the world, understanding that every stream of Twelve Lights is a triple flame — such that we come to know them as qualified Soul Lights of loving intelligence, as emanations of Love carrying 'miracle powers' flowing from the Heart of God at deeper levels of Reality, as flames of sacrificial Fire radiating the Will of Spirit — all together One.

All come under the guiding sovereignty of the "One Who Knows Himself as One with the Whole” — moving as an Epiphany through the subtle etheric planes of planet Earth making everything new — making “Everything Holy Now”.

Touching the planes of Earth, the Crowns of Lighted Glory release their effulgence, spreading magical emanations from the higher spheres of living — cleansing, healing, adjusting, lifting, raising and inspiring and creating.

To the measure this has become true and real for every one of us, we have increased our ‘true knowing’ of the inner growing Reality through every act of true love, every expression of higher will, every spoken word of lighted truth … all are the Light that governs our lives, our relationships and interactions, and creative manifestations. We, each and every one, are a “Light of the World”.

We now simply and profoundly, without effort, “Give Good Gifts” — releasing the energy of our inner God powers — the twelve Lights that ray forth from the Crown — into the world today.

“Ye are Gods born in the Image of the most High God”

THE CROWN OF STARS

is the

– Crown of the Immortals –

We are Born for these Days … these Times … this Era ~

We prepare the Way for the Coming One

OM

“And I beheld a wonderful sign in the Heavens; behold there appeared a woman clothed with the Sun, her feet resting upon the Moon, and upon her head a crown of twelve Stars”.

Star of Heaven - Woman with Star above her head and moon beneathe her feet.jpg

We shall stand victorious over the lunar forces of the lower worlds.

Our heart, our mind, our body, our countenance — filled with the renewing Light and Life of Spirit, we emanate and transmit exalted Light to all;

The Chalice of the Heart filled full with the Love of the Logos – the Son of Divine Love, overflows with “life more abundant” — in sacrificial service throughout all the lower Kingdoms.

The Head, crowned with the Glory of the Soul’s inheritance, radiates the achievements of Spirit — the twelve-fold attainment of Realization.

All unfolds progressively upon the path of Return to the Heart of the Sun — the radiant Glory of the One Life.

Joy is a Path to Illumination and Learning

Supermundane IV — by Helena Roerich (732)

“…illumination that comes through joy and love is stronger than any insight that comes through suffering. Yet, people insist that it is suffering that purifies humanity.

Why is it that man is not capable of utilizing the higher path to illumination? The answer is simple—suffering is sown by man himself in the earthly world, and it partially penetrates into the Subtle World. But pure joy and love live in the Fiery World, and are seldom experienced by man. During the coming evolution people will realize where their treasure lies, and will turn to this panacea of light.

Among the new scientific achievements will be the discovery of the power of the [expanded] emotions of love and joy. Humanity must steadily grow closer to these impelling forces of light, and understand that any thought of joy has healing power. Even amidst sorrows one can find signs of love and compassion. Let these signposts help the weary traveler. Scientists must learn how much the rhythm of joy opens the gates to an influx of [Soul] energy. Science should demonstrate how the power of joy heals.

The ignorant will say that such advice is not practical, because humanity is drowning in suffering. Only such people would choose to sink into darkness rather than turn to the quest for Light. Only such people would say that man can never learn to utilize the energy of thought.

One must strive ardently toward the renewal of life. Everyone can think of heroism, of joy, and of exalted love. Everyone can gain the power of the healing remedy and spread these emanations in every direction.

The Thinker said, "Sorrow is transitory, joy is everlasting. Love the Light and love the Beautiful." Thus did the Thinker direct His disciples to the simplest solution".

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