"I am the Mother and the Child. I, God, I, Matter am"

by Luisa Romero de Johnston, translated by Gail Jolley

In his book Esoteric Astrology the Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul writes: �The sign Virgo is one of the most significant in the zodiac, for its symbology concerns the whole goal of the evolutionary process, which is to shield, nurture and finally reveal the hidden spiritual reality.� (pp. 251-252) The keyword for Virgo (stated above) also refers to this divinity that is inherently present in matter and that reveals matter�s spiritual reality.

A basic postulate of esoteric philosophy posits a primordial energy or Life principle that, as it manifests, produces all that exists. This Life principle could be seen as a potential that remains true to its nature, whether as a latent nucleus of the Universe or as a multiplicity of forms in which it is expressed. This potential is omnipresent and inexhaustible, and it creates its own instrument and mechanism for its revitalization, conservation and permanence. Thus we can appreciate matter as a necessary vehicle subject to a series of actions or Laws through which that marvelous process called evolution is produced.

This evolutionary process, which simplistically considered seems like an interplay between unity and duality, is presented to our limited vision as the formula by which primal energy revitalizes itself again and again, guaranteeing in this way its eternal existence and inexhaustibility. It is something like the rhythmic action of ocean waves, coming in and going out, in perpetual movement and infinite repetition, waves confronting waves, crashing into each other in order to demonstrate power and renew energy.

In this process, form, or matter, seems necessary for the expression of Life. Matter is like a mirror where the unmanifested is reflected, a spark that rises up so that darkness might � through contrast � recognize itself as such. This Darkness of the unmanifested is the darkness of That which has no name, That unknown that transcends the limits of time and space, the expression of the sound and the nothingness of silence. The light of the manifested rises up from it only to return to it. This darkness is different from the darkness produced when the light is obscured by the density of matter.

It is worthwhile to reflect on some concepts regarding darkness. The first concept concerns the pre-genesis state of �Divine Darkness,� about which Dionysus the Areopagite spoke and to which Dom Bede Griffiths refers when he urges us to transcend imagination and thoughts in order to enter that Divine Darkness and be able to encounter God. The second concept pertains to the occultation of the phenomenon of light inherent in the form, within the density of form, and thus is called the shadow.

References to darkness, when speaking of the causal potency from which all that is originates, are present in the basic teachings of the Ageless Wisdom. �The �Stanzas of Dzyan� (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 1) explores the matter: �Darkness alone filled the Boundless All, for Father, Mother and Son were once more one.� (Stanza I) �Where were the Builders, the Luminous Sons of Manvantaric Dawn? � In the Unknown Darkness � The Producers of Form from No-Form � the Root of the World � rested in the Bliss of Non-Being�. The Ray had not yet flashed into the Germ�. The Seven were not yet born from the Web of Light. Darkness alone was Father-Mother, and Svabh�vat was in Darkness�. The Universe was still concealed in the Divine Thought and the Divine Bosom.� (Stanza II)

For his part, the Tibetan Master D.K. in his work A Treatise on White Magic attributes to Spirit the terms Life � Father � Positive � Darkness; while to matter he gives the names of Form � Mother � Negative � Light. And in Genesis we read that before Light was made �darkness was upon the face of the deep.� (Gen:1,2)

However, we should also reflect upon the concept of Light, which only seems to be the opposite of darkness when considered in a simplified way, and thus introduce a second element, bringing in the concept of a dual Universe, since Light, being a product of Darkness, is essentially one with it. Thus the third stanza of Dzyan states: �The Germ is That, and That is Light.� And the fourth stanza states: �From the Effulgency of Light � the Ray of the Ever-Darkness � sprang in Space the reawakened Energies.�

Therefore, when we direct our thoughts, devotion and aspiration toward the Supreme, it is correct to conceive of it as a center of Light, since that is what It is even though this Light is kept safeguarded within due to the abstract condition of pure potentiality that characterizes it. And when we try to conceive of the Source, the One Cause, as a fount of potential, this is as far as we can go. And even then, as abstract as this concept seems to us, we must recognize that it is a product of our finite mind and the limitations of its scarce resources. Abstract thought, the instrument of the higher Self and the path toward Wisdom, is for us, for now, only a speculative exercise. However, due to the Laws that govern the evolutionary process, it may also be a firm possibility.

For that reason our path is to try to arrive at the cause by analyzing its effect. It is like the study of the phenomenal world, the study of matter; it gains real importance because it is the level where we find ourselves, the world to which we have access, and the only world, for now, that we can manage to understand. Thus, as the Tibetan Master D.K. states: �matter protects, shelters and nourishes the hidden soul.� The individual who manages to disentangle the secrets from matter will arrive at knowledge of spiritual reality.

Within this realm of ideas, and in relation to what was expressed earlier about Darkness as the origin and destiny of the objective world, it would certainly be relevant to consider that phenomenon known as a �black hole� that has lately been of such interest in the world of astrophysics. A black hole has been described by science as a center of very powerful energy capable of attracting all light that reaches it to the point of absorbing it into its interior.

The Virgo message is of special interest regarding matter through its representation as Mother and Son. The Mother is a divine being, a protector, nuturer and revealer of hidden spiritual reality; she speaks to us directly as human beings, spiritual sparks incarnated, entities of remarkable material expression. The message of Virgo is that the Mother is also the Son, that matter is God and that in matter is found hidden the Spirit that must be revealed in order to comply with the evolutionary process.

Again we must go within in deep reflection to try to understand this message and find our place in such a frame of reference:

The Absolute is the One Cause. It holds within Itself all possible potential. It is the Life from which manifestation arises and in which it dwells. It creates Primordial Substance, abstraction, a potential within original matter that only awaits a stimulus in order to appear. The Absolute, acting as �Universal Unconscious Mind� expresses Its Will, projects Its force over Primordial Substance, organizes it, imprints it with Its intention, and thus forms are born, as well as the Laws that govern these forms, and in this ordered way the subjective become objective. First comes matter, then its vitalization, and then order. First comes potential within abstraction, later the impulse to make concrete. From the Unmanifested, manifestation is born; from Darkness, light; from the Father, the Mother; from Spirit, matter. In this way the Universe becomes dual, bipolar. And this duality immediately presents a third factor, a necessary and obligatory fruit of this dual interaction: the Son. And with the Son we have the possibility of self-knowledge and consciousness.

In this way, we are told, all forms and all manifestations in existence are created. Thus the One Life thrusts itself into multiple lives without losing Its state of singularity or Its distinctive quality, remaining faithful to Its essence in spite of all the diversity, because that Life is Everything that is and nothing exists outside of It. In that quality resides the possibility of a return to the original center, the possibility of synthesis, through which all that was externalized can return within; all that is objective can again become subjective; all sons can return to the Father.

This interplay of objectivity and subjectivity, light and darkness, is the interplay of evolution. It is ruled by the Absolute, That which has no name, which requires form, or matter, for its complete expression. It is from the interplay between the pairs of opposites that an intermediary must appear that is capable of reuniting the seemingly separate elements in a mutual consciousness, fusing the two into one and attaining reintegration.

The �unfolding� and the �revelation� of that consciousness or Soul are, according to the Master Djwhal Khul, �the object for which life takes form and the purpose of manifested being.� (A Treatise on White Magic, p. 9)  As a result of this the Son grows in experience and becomes capable of recognizing in himself the qualities of the Father so that he can then become Him.

In this way the importance of matter-mother is clearly established, as well as the reason for which Virgo � its zodiacal symbol � is considered the most significant sign of the Zodiac, since it represents the necessary element for the evolution of consciousness, for the presence of the Soul. Matter is the complementary manifestation of the unmanifested, the custodian of the divine, the spirit deposited within it. It is the point where outward movement ends and the return begins on that eternal voyage, repeated age after age by the Creator, producing the periodic appearance of the Light followed by its abstraction into Darkness.

On the downward arc, the compression of the Light � as it manifests in ever more compact grades of matter � takes it into the world of shadows, limiting its pure expression according to the vibratory ability of its instrument of expression. On the upward arc, the evolutionary process brings about the progressive liberation of the Light through the hierarchy of forms in the Universe. The Light within matter is redeemed by the son�s work � the expansion of consciousness � bringing him ever nearer to the Father.

All manifestation is involved in this upward-striving task, from the smallest atom to the most complex forms: planets, systems, galaxies and the highest beings. Everything in existence is part of this process and possesses consciousness, even though this consciousness may be expressed in very subtle forms, which is to say pure energy or pure light since we know that matter, energy and light are synonymous.

Thus, by a process of refinement and ascending the vibratory scale of manifestation, matter returns to its original spiritual state. This is in accord with the concept transmitted by H.P. Blavatsky that Spirit is matter at a higher vibration and matter is Spirit on a lower vibration. Each stage of the eternal journey ends when consciousness reaches its maximum expression and light reaches the highest degree corresponding to each unit in a particular incarnation. Thus matter is �impregnated� by Spirit on the downward arc and �birthed� into lighted consciousness on the upward arc.

In the life of the spiritual seeker, Virgo represents the beginning of awakening. The son in gestation begins to be felt, transmitting its will to be born; this will finds its correspondence in the mother who, in response, is willing to allow that birth. There is a mutual stimulation that will bring about, as a logical consequence, the establishment of a narrow link between them; yet a wider relationship is implicit that includes the originating factor of the Father.

Matter justifies its existence by safeguarding its spiritual essence and taking part in the marvelous process of preparing for the return. In the symbology of the Zodiac, Virgo represents the mother�s sacrifice, holding her son in gestation until he is able to confront life, to emerge into the light and complete his mission. It�s an act of love and service that speaks for itself regarding matter�s inherent spirituality and its potential for revealing Spirit � its true essence � since there is no possibility of anything other than spirit emerging. For his part, the son is not only the translation of the mother�s spiritual condition, but he is also a witness that such is the condition of the father as well.

Virgo is the point of departure for the return that the incarnated Spirit must undertake at some decisive moment in the cyclical transit of Life to which it submits in its need to express itself and acquire full consciousness. The immanent divinity in that manifestation called man must flower in the true divinity of the spiritual Being.

It�s interesting to study the meaning of the Zodiacal signs and the influence they have over humanity and humanity�s evolution via their energetic complexes. This influence depends on one�s degree of development and consciousness. Thus Virgo, which has a close relationship with the lower triple vehicle via the so-called �Crisis of Incarnation� and the life experiences acquired through a series of rebirths into form, will influence the shaping of the new individual that must emerge � first as a primitive force inherent in substance to preserve life, and later as the mother who cradles in her breast the germ of what will eventually manifest as a spiritual life. This takes for granted the human task of redeeming the personality through the development of the intellect, increased capacity to think and reason, and a gradual increase in sensitivity to the influence of the Soul or consciousness. This is the antechamber to spiritual awakening that will give way in turn to the birth of the Son, the revelation of the Christ principle hidden in matter.

This preparatory period � the first of three consecutive and ascending periods � lasts through multiple and sequential incarnations, through which the evolving self is influenced by the energies represented by the different Zodiacal signs and their exoteric rulers, but especially from Gemini, Sagittarius and Pisces that, together with Virgo, exercise an influence designed to stimulate the personality toward integration and into a state of consciousness in which it recognizes in itself the Christ principle that is immanent in all humanity.

These signs make up what esoteric astrology calls the mutable cross, a harmonized group of qualified energies that the average human being requires in order to widen his knowledge of himself and his capacity to know and willingly integrate his components until he attains insight into the Life principle, as well as in order to develop group consciousness, which will allow him to integrate himself into humanity. Thus the ordinary individual prepares himself to become an aspirant.

The form of the Cross is significant because it signals the two directions toward which the evolving self ought to direct his attention: vertically toward his ruling spiritual nucleus and horizontally toward manifestation of that spiritual presence into his environment. This form � in the shape of a cross representing the two original directions of the creative movement, descent and expansion � is a synthetic way of demonstrating the globular scope of this projection of consciousness, which in adherence to the divine laws and the goal of existence works to become all embracing.

And so it is with all life. That�s why we are taught that all forms in the Universe are spherical, alluding without doubt to this characteristic of consciousness as a capacity to relate-know-respond in the vertical sense as well as in the horizontal sense, in the world of the individual as well as in the world in which he evolves. It is the archetypal cross, where each arm rotates harmoniously on its own plane around a singular center, promoting a globular radiation and forming a sphere that illustrates the range attained by the entity�s consciousness, which in this way manifests and evolves.

To be able to understand this concept of the sphere and its meaning is fundamentally important, limited as we are by the low grade of understanding the concrete mind is capable of. For that reason we must dare to stretch the mind by attempting to sense what we might become and approach the door toward knowledge of Life, that Life that we intuit to be eternal, inexhaustible, in constant movement and growth, animating all existence.

Only within this concept of the sphere can we conceive of Life and the qualities attributed to it by esoteric teachings: without beginning or end, Its center existing everywhere, constantly emitting and absorbing, inexhaustible, omnipresent, energy held in potency in the unmanifested and acting with a force in the manifested, able to be simultaneously both light and darkness while opposing these two so that Light may be brought forth from consciousness � the development of which is the goal of Its manifestation.

It is within this concept of the sphere � whose extent is being studied by scientists � that we can begin to understand the matter-God that Virgo proclaims, matter in which � in spite of occupying the lowest extreme of manifestation � the principle that created it not only never dissipates but that conserves the capacity to become once again itself.

It is from this idea that the circle in occult symbology represents the state before creation when Supreme Energy had not yet become manifest, as well as another beautiful symbol � the serpent biting its tail � which is a graphic demonstration of the idea that what emanates eventually returns to its origin and disappears in it.

This interplay of darkness-light-darkness, of emission and absorption, of diversification and synthesis, is repeated infinitely in open circular movements, successively and continuously, in ascending tonic vibrations, forming a spiral in which each circle represents the passage of a segment of that eternal Life with its quota of experiences and realizations that, slowly and inexorably, lead matter to undergo a series of stimuli that will transform and refine it into such a perfected state that it will eventually reveal the mystery it hides.

The onset of this revelatory process occurs when the dynamic equilibrium between Spirit and matter is broken at the extreme point of descent. The evolutionary impulse, which is inherent to vital essence and intrinsic to all acts of creation, shakes matter and awakens it, reorienting it toward the point of its origin. That impulse is represented by the Son, the Soul, the transmitting intermediary of spiritual potential. Under Its influence the form is rendered responsive, capable of expressing its spiritual reality, and it goes about establishing those relationships necessary in order to construct the path of return. This process will culminate at that higher point of dynamic equilibrium, when that which has been created returns to its original state, bringing about absorption or synthesis with the darkness of the unmanifest.

This return to a pure, primary state is the great culminating stage in the history of the Universe in general and in the history of each one of the particles that form its body � the history of the individual, the kingdoms he leaves behind and those that he still must attain.

The fact that this Energy is able to appear and disappear, as evidenced in successive and graduated manifestations; the fact that It�s always true to Its nature; and the fact of Its capacity to evolve and gradually perfect itself � completely provable at our level � testifies to Its ubiquity and inexhaustibility and guarantees our hope of Becoming. Then we come to deeply understand one of the fundamental teachings of the Occult Sciences: such Energy or Life is gifted with Will, Love-Wisdom and Active Intelligence.

Therefore let us undergo a stretching of our ability to understand, a reaching of the mind toward a territory beyond material manifestation, and thus enter into the essence of things and facts, the world of causes, where the action of the pure energy of Spirit can be perceived, and we begin to register the value of the objective as a representative modality of That which, in spite of appearing denser and more limited, remains always Subtle, Unlimited and Pure.