Alice Bailey - Esoteric Astrology

Esoteric Astrology

Whereas most astrology focuses on the personality, the esoteric astrology of Alice Bailey seeks to explain the soul and its desire for spiritual evolution. Esoteric astrology is grounded in Bailey's (Djwhal's) Ageless Wisdom teachings. According to one writer, "The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, has provided a significant foundation for a more Soul-oriented approach to astrology and to the Life it seeks to symbolize and interpret."

The esoteric astrologers who follow the teachings of Bailey typically base their work on her five-volume Treatise on the Seven Rays, particularly volume three which focuses on astrology.

In esoteric astrology the seven rays are applied to the astrological signs and planets, with a corresponding "soul urge", in the following manner (taken from Oken).

• The First Ray: Will/Power --- Signs: Aries, Leo, Capricorn --- Planets: Vulcan, Pluto

Soul Urge: "The use of spiritual will for the benefit of the collective; power utilized for the purpose of enhancing unity and beauty; the expression of will for the purposes and being of the group." (p. 105)

• The Second Ray: Love/Wisdom --- Signs: Gemini, Virgo, Pisces --- Planets: Jupiter, Sun

Soul Urge: "The urge to bring about a sustaining, loving wholeness to any group or life situation; the ability, through magnetic attraction, to bring about healing; the focus for the stimulation of consciousness, and hence for greater love/wisdom; the ability to see beyond differences into unifying principles." (p. 110)

• The Third Ray: Active Intelligence --- Signs: Cancer, Libra, Capricorn --- Planets: Earth, Saturn

Soul Urge: "The birthing of ideas to benefit humanity; the structuring of time and activities to allow for group energies to flourish; inherent, objective intelligence ready to be used in service to humanity in all ways." (p. 114)

• The Fourth Ray: Harmony through Conflict --- Signs: Taurus, Scorpio, Sagittarius --- Planets: Mercury, Moon

Soul Urge: "The 'Divine Artist' – one who seeks to raise humanity's consciousness through the realization of the beauty and harmony existing in nature and in the world of forms; the mediator between heaven and earth, God and man; the Priest." (p. 122)

• The Fifth Ray: Concrete Knowledge --- Signs: Leo, Sagittarius, Aquarius --- Planet: Venus

Soul Urge: "Those who work to be connecting links of intelligence between the abstract world of pure ideation and the concrete world of practical application; precision and exactitude in creating those forms and inventions which allow for the outpouring of Higher-Mind Intelligence." (p. 127)

• The Sixth Ray: Devotion and Idealism --- Signs: Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces --- Planet: Mars, Neptune

Soul Urge: "The urge to transform selfish and personal motivation into selfless, impersonal devotion for the good of all; the bringing about of circumstances which reorient the exclusive to the inclusive for the greater expression of Love/Wisdom." (p. 133)

• The Seventh Ray: Ceremonial Order and Magic --- Signs: Aries, Cancer, Capricorn --- Planet: Uranus

Soul Urge: "The urge to gather, formulate, and harmonize various aspects of a given set of life circumstances into an ordered expression for the Will of God; the urge to make 'heaven on earth.'" (p. 139)

The planetary and house rulers differ in esoteric astrology as compared to exoteric astrology. The esoteric planetary and house rulers are to be used when a person is analyzing the soul's purpose or journey through life. According to Djwhal Khul (Alice Bailey), here are the rulers.

Alice Bailey wrote in Esoteric Astrology, "The human being in his eventual recognized group relationships is of more importance than appears in his individual life, which the orthodox horoscope seeks to elucidate. It only determines his little destiny and unimportant fate. Esoteric astrology indicates his group usefulness and the scope of his potential consciousness."