Here is this week’s video on the Essentialist Astrology channel:
Here is a link to the written text of this sutra:
Category: Deanism/Filianism
The Home and the Marketplace
One of the important teachings in Filianism relates to the interaction between the home, or the Hestia, and the marketplace, or the Agora. Both are necessary for us, but in many modern cultures, there is a huge imbalance in how we treat both. The Agora is seen as central and more important than the Hestia. Filianism teaches that the reverse is true, that the Hestia is central and primary and that the Agora is secondary.
The Year of Sai Rhavë
In the Filianic calendar, the year starts on March 21, which is the day that we ritually celebrate Eastre and the Equinox, regardless of the day that the Equinox actually falls on, which varies from year to year. The day of the week that this day falls on is the first day of the week, and the Janya, or Great Angel, that rules that day is believed to govern the year.
This year, March 21 fell on Saturday, so the Janya of this year is Sai Rhavë, whose planet is Saturn.
On my astrology site, I talked about the astrological chart for the physical Equinox. If you are interested in reading it, here is a link to that article:
Aries Ingress 2020 – A Time of Testing
Yet, as a Filianist, I also believe that the Janya who rules the year also takes on added significance during the year.
Sai Rhavë is a severe Janya, and She often makes life difficult for us on the physical plane. Even so, She is necessary and a manifestation of Dea. Her lessons are important, even if they are not ones that anyone would wish for.
As we start this year, for most of us, the themes of Sai Rhavë are quite clear. All around the world, people are in quarantine and isolation due to a rampant pandemic that is sweeping the world. The Rhavic symbolism behind this is obvious.
Yet, as is always the case with Sai Rhavë, we can also learn some very important lessons from the experience.
I believe that one of these lessons is the importance of the Hestia, as well as a deepened appreciation for the sectors of life that are traditionally associated with the Feminine Principle.
What is Essential?
In the state of the U.S. that I live, we are under a “stay-at-home” order. All businesses, except for those deemed “essential” are closed down. In effect, the Agora has been effectively shut down. It is interesting, though, to learn what business activities truly are essential.
Of course, in this crisis, medical care providers are essential. Yet, the businesses that directly support the Hestia are also essential, such as food providers, store clerks, and sanitation workers. Many of these people do not generally get much respect in our society, but during these times, they have been heroic in helping to provide for our comfort and our needs, risking their own health and safety.
Teachers and those who care for children are also getting new respect as parents are attempting to teach their children at home.
In addition to those who are still at work, we are also learning about what it is that we actually need, as well as the strange things that we think that we need.
Most of those in the U.S. have never really experienced shortages. We might be limited by our financial resources in what we can buy, but there has always been the sense that we could buy whatever we needed or wanted if we could afford it. Now, we are discovering that many things are quite difficult to find.
One of the stranger things has been just how important people seem to find toilet paper, which has now become a scarce commodity. Although, I remember many conversations with my late grandmother in which we talked about a new invention or technology, and she recounted to me that she remembered when they invented toilet paper. I wonder what she would say about all of this.
Taking Stock of our Personal Hestia
Now that many people are at home, we are gaining awareness of our own Hestias and our own immediate families. There are those that are experiencing loneliness and boredom, particularly those that live alone. There are those that are having to be together with people that they have spent very little time with. Ironically, for some, such as housewives and stay-at-home moms, this is a time of greater engagement with the Agora, with spouses working from home.
While this is uncomfortable for many people, it is also a great opportunity to really examine our own Hestia and to see what changes need to be made.
This is not just a matter of practical considerations, such as working on our housekeeping or our relationships. It is also a matter of examining our hearts and souls and taking a hard look at our priorities.
Finding New Ways to Do Business and to Connect with Others
One of the things that we are having to do is to find new ways to connect with others. People need contact with other people, and right now, physical contact is dangerous. Yet, for most of us, there are other ways to communicate. Churches are finding that they can have Services electronically. Families can keep in contact through phone calls and video chat. While this might not be as satisfying as being in person, these methods do serve to meet our social needs.
In many ways, we are much more fortunate than our ancestors who had to deal with various kinds of plagues. Even 20 years ago, this level of non-physical communication would not have been possible.
Indeed, I think that this is a large part of the big picture. We are moving from an era dominated by Earth to one dominated by Air. We are moving away from the physical and into the world of ideas and electronic communication. While this pandemic is pushing us faster in that direction, we were going there anyway.
For more information, see:
2020 – An Earth-Shattering Year
Many people are worried about the economy while we are not able to do business in person. That an understandable fear, but I believe that those companies that can adapt are going to survive and flourish, not just during this scary time, but into the future as well.
There will be change and turmoil, and some jobs will disappear. This happens whenever there are advances in technology. Yet, new jobs will emerge, and people will find ways to make a living.
Even after this pandemic is over, our world will not go back to the way it was. For better or for worse, we will all have to adjust to “the new normal.”
A Ray of Hope
In a crisis, the best and worst in people come out. Yet, so far, there seems to be a lot more good than bad.
Yes, some people are selfishly ignoring precautions or hoarding items that we all need. Yes, some politicians and leaders are being less than helpful. This is not the full picture, however.
Some people are doing their best to be good. Performers and entertainers are giving free video performances. People are going out of their way to support and encourage each other from a safe distance. Businesses are doing their best to respond to this crisis by giving paid sick leave and taking other precautions to prevent the spread of the disease.
In the U.S., for the first time in decades, opposing parties are working together for the common good.
Even though the physical borders between countries have closed, all over the world, people are working together to fight the same enemy. Many people are sharing their experiences in quarantine and isolation, and in some ways, this has brought us closer as a worldwide community than ever before.
Like all crises, this is an opportunity for us to call forth our best selves, whether we are heroic first responders, faithful grocery store clerks, or one of the many who are called to protect our own health so we don’t contribute to the spread of the disease or further tax the available medical resources.
Conclusion
This is a time of uncertainty and fear. Yet, this is also a time for us to take a deep look at ourselves and our values. Life has been changing over the last several decades, but this new crisis is pushing us headlong into that change. In particular, we are being forced to examine our relationship to both the home and the marketplace, and examine our priorities…as individuals, as families, as cities, as nations, and as a world.
The Divine Feminine
As a Filianist, I believe in the Divine Feminine. What does this mean? Or more precisely, what do I mean when I say the Divine Feminine?
I think that the term “the Divine Feminine” is used by many people, and I am not sure that they all are talking about the same thing. My religious affiliation is Orthodox Filianism. I am an astrologer and not a thealogian so I cannot say for certain that my thoughts are perfectly in line with the teachings of Orthodox Filianism as set forth in the Mother God Chapel and the Gospel of Our Mother God, but I do use them as my primary guides in these matters.
So, what is the Divine Feminine? Well, to me, the Divine Feminine is simply the Divine worshipped using feminine language and imagery. There is a Filianist Creed that sets forth these beliefs more fully, but really all we are doing is practicing a monotheistic faith using feminine rather than masculine or neuter terminology.
But, what about the Divine Masculine? This is always one of the first questions people ask, and from what I have read on the blogs of independent Filianists, this seems to be a source of division and contention between them. I have to say, however, that I think that this question misses the point to a large extent.
My Path to the Divine Feminine
I had a long and winding spiritual journey to Orthodox Filianism. My mother considered herself spiritual and not religious, and she was heavily influenced by the teachings of Edgar Cayce. While Edgar Cayce’s readings and teachings have been taken up by many New Age style movements, Edgar Cayce himself was a fundamentalist Christian. In his readings, his language for God was exclusively masculine, and I do not remember ever hearing any question about the absence of the Divine Feminine.
Around the age of 12, I became interested in Roman Catholicism, and with my mother’s permission, I attended CCD and was baptized and confirmed in the Roman Catholic faith. While Roman Catholicism uses copious imagery for Mary, and I have observed that some Catholics, particularly women of advanced years, seem to primarily venerate Mary, with Jesus as an afterthought, Mary is not officially recognized as Divine in the Roman Catholic faith. The Divine seems to be viewed as exclusively Masculine in this tradition, at least from a lay perspective.
Later, as a young adult, I joined the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, UFMCC, or simply MCC. This was a Christain Protestant denomination founded in the gay and lesbian community. I spent many years in MCC, and my spouse was ordained and was a Pastor in this denomination for a time. MCC believed in “inclusive language” for God. On my first visit to MCC, one of the hymns during Service was called When Israel Camped in Sinai. The third verse to this hymn used feminine language for God and the fourth verse began, “Our God is not a woman; Our God is not a man; Our God is both and neither; Our God is I who Am.” This hymn, more than anything, is what attracted me to MCC.
In theory, I still do believe that this line in that hymn is as close to the Truth as we will be able to get using human language. In practice, however, I found “inclusive language” difficult. Inclusive language meant that in official worship, God must be referred to in gender-neutral terms or using alternate masculine and feminine language. The actual observance of this official policy ranged from those who ignored it entirely and continued to use exclusively masculine language for God to those who I termed the “inclusive language police,” who rigidly adhered to the practice, and loudly insisted everyone else did too. The policy was never breached in favor of exclusively feminine language, at least not in my limited experience, and people often had far more trouble with alternating masculine and feminine language than using neuter language.
As a budding astrologer, I found MCC repressive. At the time, it was rather conservative theologically, and there were those who saw astrology as a form of paganism or idolatry. When my spouse became a Pastor, and I became a Pastor’s wife, I believed it was my duty to keep quiet about my astrological interests so as not to undermine the faith of people in our congregation. For a time, I even gave up astrology and focused on my career as a budding lawyer. That was a difficult time for me, and it led to a great deal of resentment towards my spouse.
Later, my spouse resigned her position as Pastor and we both became Quakers. I was not entirely comfortable in the Meeting we attended, but I was far more comfortable there than in MCC. I felt more acceptance of my practice of astrology there, but there was no active support. I had considered spiritual movements such as Wicca, but I could never warm to any of them. At the time, I said I was too pagan to be Christian and too Christian to be pagan.
Orthodox Filianism
Within months of my officially joining a Quaker Meeting, by a strange twist of events, I learned about Orthodox Filianism. I first began exploring, wondering if this was something I could believe in. When I purchased and read the Gospel of Our Mother God, I found that not only could I believe in these teachings, these teachings spoke to what I have always believed. After years of wrestling with the Judeo-Christian written tradition, the Gospel of Our Mother God was a breath of fresh air. I agreed with and felt inspired by every word!
For about a year, I tried to reconcile my beliefs as a Filianist with Quaker practices, but it eventually proved to be too difficult, and I resigned my membership within the Quaker Meeting. My spouse is still a Quaker and still active in that Meeting.
While I do believe that the Divine is beyond human gender, which is completely in line with Filianist teachings as I understand them, using feminine imagery for God, or Dea, has completely changed my relationship with Her. I no longer struggle with a harsh and judgmental Father, and I no longer feel disconnected by an abstract God with no gender. I feel a deep connection with a supportive and loving Mother who desires to nurture me and give me good things. I do not miss masculine imagery for God, and I find myself annoyed with those who criticize my faith because it does not include such imagery. I have no quarrel with those who use masculine or neuter imagery for God, but I observe there is no shortage of places to do so in the Modern West.
Orthodox Filianism has been accused of denying the Divine Masculine and the existence masculinity in general, but I honestly do not see the basis for that accusation. Nowhere in all of the copious resources and recommendations provided on the Chapel site is that ever said. To the contrary, the Chapel explicitly expresses respect for traditions that worship God in masculine form, even while asserting the legitimacy of the worship of Dea in feminine form. The Chapel purposely takes no position on the relationship between men and women, but the Chapel does not take a position on many things, including most matters in the material realm. In my experience, the writers of the Chapel are extremely cautious with respect to taking positions in general and only do so when absolutely necessary. I have read the struggles of independent Filianists in addressing relationships between men and women, and there are some who seem to say that women are superior to men. The Chapel does not say that at all.
Filianism and Astrology
As an astrologer, one of the most important benefits of becoming a Filianist was spiritual support and grounding for my astrological practice. The descriptions of the Janyati and devotion in accordance with the Wheel of the Year added depth and richness to my practice that I do not believe I could have found anywhere else. The book, The Feminine Universe, which explains the teachings of traditionalist philosophers such as Renê Guenon and Ananda Coomaraswamy in an accessible and feminine centered way, gave me language for what I had long believed in my heart with respect to how and why astrology “worked,” and it was the catalyst for my developing theories about the Outer Planets. Long discussions with fellow worshipers and mentors helped me in my work of reframing astrology as a Traditional Science, which guides and informs my continuing research and studies.
Does this mean that my practice is limited to Filianists or to women? I sure hope not! That is not the intention of my openness about my spiritual beliefs.
Many astrologers are vague about their spirituality, and often religious discussion is prohibited on astrological forums. My own sense, however, is that an astrologer’s spiritual beliefs and religious practices, or the lack thereof, are crucial. They inform everything we do, from our understanding of the crucial issue of fate vs. free will to our philosophy of practice to what we think we are doing when we are studying astrological charts.
For me, the grounding of my practice in the Divine Feminine within the context of Orthodox Filianism means that I see the Cosmos as an orderly place, with a loving Divine Mother who cares deeply about our well being. I believe that while our material circumstances in this life may be limited by our werde, or karma, which can be seen in our Nativity Charts, on a spiritual level, we have absolute Free Will with respect to our choices between Light and Dark. I believe the movements of the planets and the stars are gifts given to us by Our Mother. These gifts provide us guidance so that we can move within the Harmony and Music of the Spheres, and that this Harmony is the closest that we can come to the Divine while we are bound in the material world of flux and change.
This is what I mean when I say that my practice is grounded in the Divine Feminine.
The World Illusion, Truth, and Literal Facts
Traditional Wisdom teaches that the material world is an illusion from which we will all someday awaken. What does this mean?
I have not reached Enlightenment, and anyone reading this who has reached Enlightenment already knows the answer(s) to this. From an Unenlightened state, we can not fully understand this. The World Illusion seems very real to us, and indeed, it should. In the Late Iron Age, we are firmly entrenched in the material world, so the material world is more real to us than ever before.
Yet, every Tradition teaches that there are worlds other than the material world. There are worlds that are higher and those that are lower than that which we live in. The Christian Tradition simplifies this greatly by calling everything higher than the material world Heaven and everything lower than it Hell. From a Traditionalist perspective, there are many Heavens (places above the material world) and many Hells (places below the material world). All of these worlds are a part of manifestation and Creation, and all will eventually return to the One at the inbreathing at the end of time. Any state other than reunion with the One is temporary, even Paradise.
From an Unenlightened state, however, our understanding of this can only be a theoretical understanding. Even to talk about the inbreathing at the end of time is not really accurate, as time itself is a part of the World Illusion. Because we are bound in space and time, we really can not understand that which is not bound in space and time. For this reason, we have been given Mythos and stories. These Mythos and stories are told as if they were in space and time, so that we can understand them, but the Truth is beyond space and time. That is the meaning behind the statement, “The Tao that can be spoken is not the True Tao.”
Literal facts are details about the material world. History tells what happened in space and time in the context of physicality. Literal facts can be true or false within the context of the World Illusion, but they are not Truth so far as the Reality that exists beyond the material world. Filianist Scripture contains a Creation Mythos, which we believe to be True, or more accurately, we believe it to tell the story of Truth in a way that we can understand it in this day and age. We believe it to be the Only Truth, which means that we believe it tells us enough for us to live our lives and attain Liberation; however, we also believe that other True Creation Mythos exist, and are also the Only Truth which can lead to Liberation. We do not believe that this story itself as it is told in our Scripture happened in space and time in the material world, nor do we believe that any True Creation Mythos could have happened in space and time.
This being said, the material world is a reflection of the spiritual world, and what happens in physicality is a reverberation of the Truth. An example of this is the Mythos of the Sacrifice of the Daughter, which is found in almost all Traditions in one form or another. Filianst Scripture tells a version of this Mythos. The Sacrifice of Quan Yin is a different telling of the story, but it is the same story. The Daughter descending to Hell and dying and the vow of the bodhisattva to remain in the physical world until the “last blade of grass” is redeemed is the same sacrifice told of in a different way.
Modern Christianity teaches that a person by the name of Jesus lived and died at a specific place and time and was resurrected. It has been noted, and rightfully so, that this story is not new to Christianity and that the God Sacrifice is found everywhere in many different Traditions. From a Traditionalist perspective, if the historical story has relevance, it is because it is a reflection of the True Story, which happened outside of space and time. It may have happened in the material world or it may not have, but if it only happened in the material world in time and space, than it would not be a story of Truth, but merely one of historical fact. From this perspective, the question is not whether or not the actual events happened in history, but whether the Story itself rises to the level of Mythos, and thus able to lead to Liberation and Truth.
What does this mean for our lives within the physical world as time and space bound creatures? Does this mean that what we do in the physical world does not matter? Filianism teaches that there is a balance. It is neither world affirming nor world denying. We believe that the material world is a beautiful gift from Our Mother, the Creator God, and our relation to it should be that of humble appreciation and gratitude. We should enjoy what we have been given, and do our best to live the life that we have been given striving to manifest our True Selves, which in the context of manifestation, are our best selves. On the other hand, we try to remember that this world is not all that there is, and to avoid excessive entanglement within it.
Our thoughts and actions in the material world do have an effect on our souls, which we believe are eternal. We can not be permanently separated from Our Mother, but we can experience separation. Within manifestation, there is Light and Dark, and Good and Evil. On one hand, even Evil is a necessary part of Creation and will return to the Mother in the inbreathing at the end of time; on the other hand, Evil also represents profound separation from Our Mother, and from a Filianist perspective, as well as a general Traditionalist perspective, is something to be avoided. This is a paradox and cannot be understood from an Unenlightened state.
The Sacred Mountain and a Jealous God
Every Sacred Mountain is THE Sacred Mountain.
This is an important principle in any form of Traditionalist philosophy. This can be a difficult concept to grasp, but how could it be otherwise? The Sacred Mountain is the place where Heaven and Earth meet. Whether one climbs Mount Sinai or Mount Fuji, one has climbed The Sacred Mountain. There is no need to climb a different Sacred Mountain, and if one did, it would be climbing The Sacred Mountain again, only in a different location. How could it be possible to climb the wrong Sacred Mountain? The idea seems almost absurd from this perspective.
One of the difficulties with the Abrahamic Traditions is the notion of a “Jealous God.” The “Jealous God” is a religious aberration and is not really found anywhere else. Of course, for the serious devotee of any religion, it is important to see her religion as The Only Truth, which on one level is absolutely correct. In Abrahamic Traditions, however, this belief has become exclusionary, denying the Truth of other religions. Just because one’s religion is The Only Truth does not mean that other religions are not also True; and indeed The Only Truth as well.
Every Sacred Mountain is THE Sacred Mountain.
While I am not here to tell anyone how to conduct their religious affairs, the pervading belief in a Jealous God creates a difficulty and barrier to discussions of a spiritual or religious nature, and is especially problematic when it comes to the exploration of Feminine Tradition or the Feminine Divine. One of the criticisms of Deanism and Filianism is that this form of spirituality sees the Divine as Feminine and does not include Masculine imagery in its devotional practices. Its Fundamental Mythos is also entirely Feminine. I find it interesting because one rarely hears that type of criticism with respect to the all Masculine imagery for the Divine of the Abrahamic religions, with the possible exception of Mary. Although, even in Roman Catholicism, Mary is not officially given Divine status.
Unlike the Abrahamic Traditions, Deaism/Filianism does not believe that Dea is a Jealous God, nor does Deaism/Filianism see its Creation Mythos in terms of literal, historical facts. Indeed, if our Mythos were based on literal, historical facts, then by definition, they could not represent Universal Truth. From an un-Enlightened state, we, as humans, are not truly capable of understanding the Divine, and as beings bound in time and space, we can not understand matters beyond time and space. “The Tao that can be spoken is not the true Tao.”
To bridge the gap between Heaven and Earth and between the Divine and mere mortals, we are given devotional imagery and Mythos told to us as if they were stories set in time and space. Of course, the images are not the Divine themselves, nor are the stories about literal, historical events that happened in space and time. They are given to us for understanding, nothing more.
In a certain respect, God or Dea is so far above us that imagery for the Divine in human form with biological gender is a poor reflection of the reality. There are religions that forbid imagery for God for this very reason. Deanistic practice does include imagery, because we feel it helps us form a closer connection with Dea and to feel Her presence in our lives.
We do not feel that worship of a Masculine God is wrong, and there are no shortage of faiths in the world that do. We do not feel that worship of God/Dea as both Masculine and Feminine is wrong either, and there are faiths in the world that do that as well. We, however, as Deanists, worship Dea in an exclusively Feminine form. Do we think that ours is the only way? Of course not. To us, all orthodox religions can be seen as a form of the Sacred Mountain. Dea is not a Jealous God.
See also:
God as Mother: Some basic questions about Feminine Monotheism
Honoring Our Ancestors
As I am writing this article, it the day after Halloween, or for Deanists and Filianists, the second day of the three day festival of Tamala. In addition to being a festival to face some of the scarier parts of life and to honor the dearly departed, Tamala is also a festival to honor our ancestors.
Ancestor worship is a practice in most traditional cultures, and remnants of it can be found in the Christian celebration of All Saint’s Day. In the modern world, there is a misconception that ancestor worship is a superstitious or primitive type of spirituality. Actually, in the truest meaning of the word, it is a “primitive” type of spirituality, in that it is one of the earlier forms, and closest to the Primordial Tradition.
So, one may ask, why would people honor their ancestors?
To answer that question, I think it is important to understand who is being worshiped when we honor our ancestors. Yes, on one level, we are honoring departed parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, but there is another level to ancestor worship that is far deeper than this.
To explain this, I need to refer back to two previous articles that I wrote, The Unfolding of the Ages and Where We Come From, and Why it Matters. The most important part of these articles is that the Traditional understanding of our origins as Axial Beings is that we have been created from before the dawn of time. There was a period before time that we existed in Union with Dea as Primordial Maid. Each generation that passes is a generation further away from Primordial Maid.
The current movement of physical manifestation is away from the Center, or away from Dea. We believe that at the end of time, all of us will be re-united with Dea, although, that understanding is a bit beyond our comprehension from an un-Enlightened state. Tamala is, in part, a celebration of this end of time. Yet, for now, we are aware that the movement is towards decline and separation.
Ancestor worship is one way of holding on to a line to Dea even though we live in a time of decline and separation. Each previous generation was one generation closer to Primordial Maid, and in worshiping our ancestors we keeping a connection all the way back to Primordial Maid, who lived in Union with Dea. We are also worshiping Dea in this fashion, and remembering the time that our souls were much closer to Her than they are now.
Who Am I? Spirit and Soul
Who am I? This is an age old question that has dominated philosophy and spiritual thought for millenia. In the Enlightenment, René Descartes made the well-known statement, “Cogito ergo sum,” or “I think, therefore, I am.” This idea has dominated Western thought since that time, and it is the Rationalist approach to this question.
Traditional thought has a much different answer to this question, and this answer can be seen in the symbols of the glyphs for the Janyati and their planets. Each of the Janyati/planetary glyphs are made up of three symbols, the circle, the crescent, and the cross. In a recent article, I included a very humble drawing that I made showing the Traditional Model of the Cosmos, and I used the glyphs in that drawing. If you look at the glyphs, you will see that each of these glyphs is made up of one, two, or three of these symbols in various combinations.
The cross is the symbol of the material world. It is also the symbol of humans as Axial Beings with the capacity for Free Will. I have spoken at length about the symbol of the cross in previous articles. An introductory article regarding the symbol of the cross can be found here. As you can see, the symbol of the cross is found in all of the non-luminary planetary glyphs.
The luminaries, the Sun (Sai Raya) and the Moon (Sai Candre), are the only glyphs that contain only one symbol. The cross is not contained in either of these glyphs. This is because the principles that they represent are beyond and independent of the material world. These are the pure solar and lunar principles, and these principles are the answer to the question, “Who am I?”
At the very deepest level, we are One with the Divine and with all of existence. This is stated in many places in feminine Scripture:
“For the Spirit is One, and I am the Spirit, and you are the Spirit also, in the innermost temple of your heart.” – The Temple of the Heart
“Raise not thy voice above a gentle tone except it be in song, nor seek to place thyself above another, for the spirit in each is a ray of the Spirit My Mother, and as thou render service unto them, so servest thou also Her.” – The Heart of Water
“If thou wouldst find union with our Mother, know that thou has never left Her.” – Cry Marya
This Mystery is not only found in the Deanic/Filianic tradition, but is found deep in the teachings of all legitimate traditions. This is the Mystery of the Atman and the Spirit. The circle is the symbol of this Mystery. The glyph for the Sun is a point* surrounded by a large circle, which is the Mystery of the Spirit that is both deep within us and far outside of us. The Mystery is explained (as well as it can be explained in words), in the Temple of the Heart:
Know your own heart and make examination thereof; for if you know not your own heart, there can be no true knowledge of anything. But within the innermost temple of your heart shall you find the seas and the heavens and all the illimitable cosmos; For the space within this temple is as vast as the manifest universe.
The ignorant eye shall not see this temple from without, For it is smaller than the seed of an apple, and the seventh part of a seventh part divided again until what part remains can be seen nor touched nor tasted.
The ignorant eye shall not see this temple from within, for it is vast as the manifest universe.
Beyond life, beyond death is the temple, for it is a temple of the Spirit.
Within this Mystery is a paradox. We are One with the Divine, yet we are also separate from the Divine. The Deanic/Filianic Mythos, as well as the Mythos of many religions, teach of our turning from the Divine, or our choosing separation from the Divine. In the Temple of the Heart, it says, “About this temple and encompassing it round grows a garden rank with thorns, which are the thorns of khear.” In the Deanic/Filianic tradition khear is that which keeps us separate from the Divine. Khear is similar to sin in the Christian tradition, but it has slightly different connotations. In the Creation Mythos of the Deanic/Filianic tradition, after Axial Beings choose separation, the Light of the Mother became too bright to look upon, and needed to be mediated by the softer reflected Lunar Light of the Daughter.
The symbol of the crescent is the symbol of the softer Lunar Light. This symbol is also the symbol for our individual souls, seen in the crescent within a crescent in the symbol for the Moon. Our souls are the lesser reflection of the Solar Spirit within, and they are the part of us that is both eternal, but also experiences death and rebirth. The Mystery of our soul is complex, and I have been told that one Eastern meditation exercise is to contemplate one’s own soul and the boundaries of one’s soul. Any astrologer who has studied Nativity charts knows how complicated and intricate each individual is, filled with contradictions and twists and turns. Even Modern psychology, as limited as it is, recognizes concepts such as our Inner Child. Many of us function with multiple personae, such as our work persona, our parent persona (for those with children), and our persona with friends. Do these personae represent who we are, are they functional, are they something in between? The answers to these questions are not always all that clear, are they?
As stated before, the non-luminary planetary glyphs are symbolic of the way that each of these Janyatic/planetary principles mediate the Light of the Solar Spirit and the Lunar Crescent in the material world.
See also:
—————————–
*Below is an excerpt from a comment from Cure Tadashiku regarding the point in the center of the Solar Glyph:
The center of the Solar glyph is…….the Point without extension:
2. Yet from the still point all movement comes; and Earth is the shadow of Heaven. 3. Space doth extend without limit, nor is there any boundary to the worlds, but the Point is without extension; yet from the Point alone all space proceedeth. 4. All manifest things are bound to the three times; of that which is, which was, which is to come; but the Moment is without time. It neither is nor was, nor ever will be.
……..
The Solar glyph is precisely the extension of manifestation with the non-extended, unmanifest Point at its Center.
Thank you for the information, Cure Tadashiku.
The Planets, the Cosmological Spheres, the Janyati, and the Almuten Figuris
One of the things that took me some time to understand when incorporating Classical Astrology into the Filianic Tradition was the relationship and the differences between the planets, the cosmological spheres, and the Janyati. Western Medieval and Renaissance Astrology has been studied under the backdrop of the Abrahamic religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judiasm, for almost two thousand years. With the fierce monotheistic nature of these religions, I think that the role of the Janyati became minimized. By the Hellenistic period, the planets became associated with Greco-Roman gods and goddesses. All legitimate Traditions throughout history have recognized that there really is only One Divine Source. On the other hand, that Divine Source may be seen through Her different Aspects, or the Janyati. At certain points in history, Tradition deteriorated to the point where the Janyati were seen as separate goddesses and gods, but their true nature is that they are Aspects of the Divine Source.
There are other Janyati besides the planetary Janyati. Some examples are Sai Werde, Sai Annya, and Sai Maia. For purposes of this article, however, it is the planetary Janyati that are most relevant.
The planetary Janyati are Angels and Aspects of Dea. They are unchanging and perfect. According to the Sacred Mythos in feminine Scripture, they came about after Primordial Maid turned from the Mother and could no longer look upon Her brightness. The Golden Light separated into seven colors, which represent the Janyati. For a fuller description of the planetary Janyati, please see this article.
When we start entering the realm of Cosmology, we are entering into the realm of manifestation. There is a mistaken Western notion that manifestation is limited to the sublunary sphere, the world that we can experience with our senses. The sublunary sphere includes the earth, everything in the sky, and everything in what modern scientists would call the universe. All of the planetary bodies and the fixed stars are part of the sublunary sphere of existence.
Between the sublunary sphere and the Highest Heaven are the Cosmological Spheres, as I discussed previously in this article. The sphere of the Fixed Stars is already part of manifestation and has already moved from the Center. That is why we can talk about evil fixed stars, like Algol. The actual fixed stars are in the sublunary sphere of flux and change but they are also representations the higher spheres. As above, so below.
While the Janyati are pure and perfect aspects of Dea, they cast light throughout the lower spheres of manifestation. The light they cast becomes less and less perfect the further it moves from the Center. Each person and each moment of time is a microcosm of the entire cosmos, which also includes each of the Janyatic principles. This is written in the fabric of the sublunary sphere in the movements of the heavenly bodies. This is also why we can talk about positive and negative expressions of the Janyatic and planetary principles. The Janyati are perfect. The expression of their light in individuals is not.
Here is an example that might help with understanding. The Archetype of the Flower belongs to Sai Sushuri (Venus). A flower is a flower because it is a reflection of the Divine Archetype of a Flower. This is a perfect correlation. When we start talking about individual physical flowers and types of flowers, the correlation becomes much less perfect. Even though the Divine Archetype of Flower belongs to Sai Sushuri, different physical flowers might be associated with other Janyati for various reasons, such as their color, their physical properties, mythology surrounding the flower, and so on. Sometimes, the associations are obvious, sometimes the reasons for the association have been obscured in a broken and fallen tradition.
There is a concept contained in Classical Astrology that works well to illustrate and explain how this works. This concept is the Almuten Figuris, or the Lady of the Soul. A Filianist may also think of the Almuten Figuris as her Guardian Janya. The calculation that I use for this is the one recorded by Ibn Ezra. This point can be calculated by hand or through software. There are, of course, other calculations used by other fine Classical Astrologers; however, I have found the Ibn Ezra calculation to be the most useful and accurate in my own practice.
The Almuten Figuris or Guardian Janya is the Janya that is a person’s strongest connection with her True Self and with Dea. Please forgive me for discussing my own chart, but I think that one’s Guardian Janya is rather personal. To me, it seems impolite to share such personal information about anyone other than oneself in public. It does help to have a specific illustration, though; so for this purpose, I will use my own chart.
My Guardian Janya is Sai Sushuri (Venus). This means that in following the path to my True Self, I need to connect with Sai Sushuri. The Way of Love is my path to the Divine. If I get lost, I need to look to Divine Mercy and to Divine Love and let them run through me.
On the other hand, my Guardian Janya being Sai Sushuri does not mean that I will seem Sushuric or even have many Sushuric traits. Mars (Sai Vikhë) is actually stronger in my chart. I also have Jupiter (Sai Thamë) and the Moon (Sai Candre) very close to my Ascendant. If one were to be looking for a planet or a Janya that described my personality or how I would seem to act, those three planets would give a much better description of this. Sometimes one’s Guardian Janya will seem to govern personal traits of the native; sometimes she will not.
The position and condition of the Guardian Janya in the Nativity Chart will show the extent to which a Native will manifest the traits of her Guardian Janya and will give clues and guidance as to how easy or hard it is for her Guardian Janya to guide her. In my case, Venus has many dignities; however, she is Combust, or within 8 degrees of the Sun. This represents the 
main barrier to Sai Sushuri’s ability to guide me. The Sun in a Nativity in her low form represents the ego. The Sun in my chart also rules my 10th House, the house of career and public recognition. So, in my case, Sai Sushuri is inhibited by my tendency to hide, and by my ego and career. Interestingly in my chart, Venus is separating from Combustion, so it is predictable that I would find it easier to come under Sai Sushuri’s guidance later in life. Those of you who are following my current spiritual journey in my diary on my personal blog will likely see how this is manifesting as I have gotten older.
Filianists who know their Guardian Janya can also use symbolism related to their Guardian Janya on their home shrines to help them connect with their Guardian Janya. On my own shrine, I have a pink doily with a pentacle that I made myself and a sand dollar given to me by a friend that shows Sai Sushuri’s signature in manifestation.
See also:
The Wisdom of Our Grandmothers 