The Message of the Stars[3]
[PAGE 55] WERE YOU BORN UNDER A LUCKY STAR?
CHAPTER III
WERE YOU BORN UNDER A LUCKY STAR?
Have you ever looked through a kaleidoscope at the patterns formed there
by the many little pieces of varicolored glass, and noticed how the slight-
est disturbance of the position changes the pattern? Also, do you realize
that it would be impossible, or almost so, to duplicate any pattern, no mat-
ter how much you were to turn; there is such a variety of effect. Similarly
when you look into the heavens night after night you will notice changes
among the planets, in fact such is the variety of changes that occur among
them that it would be impossible to duplicate the position which they hold
relatively to one another while you are reading this, for almost twenty-six
thousand years. Thus in the planetary kaleidoscope there is, we might say,
an infinity of patterns. When we realize that human beings are entering the
world constantly and that each being is stamped at the first complete breath
with the planetary pattern then in the sky, everyone must necessarily be
different from everyone else. Nor should this statement about stellar in-
fluence create doubt when we consider that wireless saves of different
lengths and different pitch sent out from a tiny man-made contrivance can
[PAGE 56] THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS
make themselves felt and can register by mechanical operations involving ex-
penditure of energy thousands of miles from their source. The planetary vi-
brations from those great orbs in the heavens make themselves felt millions
of miles away as surely, as easily, and with equal uncertainty. We know
that the angle of the solar ray determines whether it is winter or summer.
We also know the effect of the Moon upon the waters, and it is within the
experience of all that we feel more buoyant when the atmosphere is clear and
dry than when it is moist and murky. And what determines these atmospheric
conditions but the planets, the circling stars?
When we look up at this planetary kaleidoscope from time to time we see
in the heavens various configurations which are pronounced lucky or unlucky
according to whether they are formed between so-called benefices alone, such
as Venus, Jupiter and the Sun, or planets said to be malefic such as Saturn,
Mars or Uranus. When Jupiter and Venus are in close conjunction near the
mid-heaven, it is a foregone conclusion that those who come into the world
under this configuration will enjoy a measure of good fortune far above the
average, and such persons would therefore me considered "lucky" in the ex-
treme. On the other hand there are times when Saturn and Mars occupy the
zenith position for souls that are born to suffer.
But why should one suffer and another be born under a lucky star? Why do
the stars give good fortune to one and misfortune to others, and if we are
[PAGE 57] WERE YOU BORN UNDER A LUCKY STAR?
born to "luck": whether good or bad, what is the use or where is the incen-
tive to individual effort? If there is a law of nature which is established
beyond doubt it is surely the law of Cause and Effect. Every cause must
produce an adequate effect and nothing which we see as an effect can be
without a pre-existence cause. Moreover, if this is a universal law it must
apply to the conditions of birth as well as to subsequent life. Following
up this idea the next question is: If our birth under a lucky or unlucky
star. Thus by induction of belief in Astrology requires also a belief in a
previous existence as well as in future lives, for while we are now reaping
in our horoscopes the effects of our past lives we are also by out acts lay-
ing the foundations for a new horoscope which can only be worked out in a
future life.
"How closely luck is linked to merit
Does never to the fool occur;
Had he the wise man's stone, I swear it,
The stone had no philospher,"
said MEPHISTO sarcastically in "FAUST" and it is true. If we are born under
a lucky star it shows that we have earned good fortune thereby indicated, by
[PAGE 58] THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS
forethought, kindness, and our other virtues expressed in previous lives,
for we cannot have friends unless we are friendly ourselves. If we happen
to have Saturn and Mars instead of Venus and Jupiter near zenith, it shows
that in the past we ourselves have not been kindly and friendly or we could
not now express the opposite traits. But this is just the point where the
study of Astrology should help us. It shows our limitations for the present
and it points out the obvious remedies and HOW TO BUILD FOR THE FUTURE. Can
the leopard change its skin? No. Can the lion cease to prey? Absolutely
impossible. Can the flower cease to bloom or the mineral to crystallize?
Certainly not; because they are under laws which are as unchangeable as the
laws of the Medes and Persians. THEY HAVE NEITHER CHOICE NOR PREROGATIVE
but must obey the dictates of the group spirit which guides them along their
path of evolution. But in this respect we differ radically from those lower
kingdoms, we have both choice and prerogative. WE MAY DO WHATSOEVER WE WILL
and that is a factor which is never shown in the horoscope, a factor that
may be made to play an all important role in every life. It is not enough
to be born under a lucky star to have a lucky life, for the horoscope shows
only the tendencies and the person who is so well endowed will without ques-
tions have an abundance of opportunities to make his life fortunate in the
very highest degree. BUT ONLY IN SO FAR AS HE EXERTS HIMSELF TO GRASP
[PAGE 59] WERE YOU BORN UNDER A LUCKY STAR?
OPPORTUNITY on the wing, will that which is foreshadowed in his horoscope
come to pass. And similarly with the person who is afflicted by the con-
junction of two malefics in the mid-heaven or anywhere else in the horo-
scope. By his will, and the exercise of choice, which are his divine birth-
rights, HE MAY RULE HIS STARS and make of the unlucky horoscope a fruitful
life from a far higher standpoint than the other. The bark that has been
tossed by the tempest harbors a job when the haven of safety is reached that
is not equaled on the ship that has always said on smiling seas.
"Who never ate his bread in sorrow,
Who never passed the midnight hours
Weeping, waiting for the morrow,
He knows not yet ye heavenly powers."
From the higher standpoint those who are living in the lap of luxury are
to be pitied when their lucky stars give them all the good things of this
world and cause them to forget that they are stewards and that the day is
coming when their souls shall be required of them with an accounts of their
stewardship. They shall then be forced to confess that they have failed to
use the substance entrusted to them in the proper manner; while others under
the strain and stress of live, expressed by the horoscopical squares and op-
positions, have wrung from their unlucky stars a measure of victory. What
wonder then if the king's messengers, the circling stars, take from the
[PAGE 60] THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS
unfaithful steward that which he had and give to the other, changing the
latter's adversity to prosperity in later lives. Thus the pendulum of luck
and loss, success and failure swings through many lives till we learn to
make our own "luck" by ruling our stars.
"A god can love without cessation,
But under laws of alteration
We mortals need, in changing measure,
Our share of pain as well as pleasure."
And it is this necessity for change that is ministered unto us by the cir-
cling stars which form configurations that we call good or evil, though they
are neither from a higher standpoint; for no matter how good the horoscope,
by progression of the stars evil configurations are sure to come and no mat-
ter how evil, there are always new opportunities for good given by aspects
of the Sun, Venus, and Jupiter to our planets at birth. ALL THAT WE HAVE TO
DO IS TO GRASP THE OPPORTUNITY, AND HELP OUR STARS, THAT OUR STARS MAY HELP
US.
AMULETS, BIRTH-STONES AND PLANETARY COLORS
In the windows of jeweler's shops and in cheap, ready made horoscopes one
may often read that it is "LUCKY" for people born in a certain month to wear
a particular stone or color. It means business to the jeweler and the as-
trological prestidigitator who produced "your horoscope" by a turn of the
[PAGE 61] AMULETS, BIRTHSTONES, ETC.
wrist from a box when you tell him in what month you were born. Both buy
their instructive (?) literature at a nominal price per thousand, the prin-
cipal cost being paper and printers' ink; there are no furrows in their
foreheads from deep and earnest study of the problem.
But as the counterfeit coin argues the existence of the genuine, so also
the fallacious information flippantly dispensed by people who cater to the
sense of mystery and wonder which is deeply imbedded in human nature argues
the existence of a genuine science of mineralogical correspondences with the
stellar rays impinging upon all who inhabit our sub-lunar sphere; and when
this is rightly understood by the majority of people, for then it is THE
RESULT OF ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE SCIENTIFICALLY USED, and therefore the outcome
is as inevitable as that water runs down hill.
The philosophy of planetary colors and mineralogy is that each of the
Creative Hierarchies which is active in evolution works with the various
classes of beings from mineral to man, and is responsible for the progress
made by them. In the course of this work each Hierarchy naturally imparts
to the beings with whom it labors some of its own nature and vibration.
Thus each group of minerals, each species of plant and animal, vibrates to a
certain keynote which blends with the vibration of the Group Spirit, and the
[PAGE 62] THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS
particular sign and planet with which he is most nearly attuned.
It has been taught by the Elder Brothers in the Rosicrucian
Cosmo-Conception, that:
The Archangels, who were humans in the Sun Period when the present
animals started their evolution with a mineral-like existence, are now the
Group Spirits of the animals.
The Angels, who were human in the Moon Period when the present plants
commenced their evolution with a similar mineral constitution are now the
Group Spirits of the planets. Man, who reached the human stage in the Earth
Period, is now working with the new life-wave which started its evolution on
the Earth as minerals. He is not far enough advanced to assume the role of
Group Spirit, that being reserved for the future. In the Jupiter Period he
will give them life as plants have, in the Venus Period he will bring out
their desires and emotions as animals, and in the Vulcan Period he will give
them a mind and make then human. That, however, is all in the future. At
present he is working with them to the best of his ability, smelting them
into iron bridges, ships and skeleton skyscrapers; he is pulling them into
wires which wind around the world; he is grinding from them gems that glit-
ter and grace the great in our social structure, and thus he is gradually
establishing an intimate relationship with them and preparing to take charge
[PAGE 63] AMULETS, BIRTHSTONES, ETC.
of their evolution as a Group Spirit at some future time.
It is well known to students of Astrology that an astrological reading
based upon the month in which an individual is born is worth little, for all
the people born in the same month do not have the same experiences by any
means, but if we consider the DAY, the YEAR and the PLACE we get a horoscope
that is absolutely individual and totally different in detail from the horo-
scope of anyone else--and this is the point which concerns us for the
present argument--the ruler is not the lord of the sign of the Sun is in,
except for children born at Sunrise, when the Sun is on the Ascendant. IT
IS THE RULER OF THE RISING SIGN, THAT IS THE DETERMINATOR WITH REGARD TO OUR
MINERALOGICAL AFFINITY, because at the moment of conception when the
seed-atom of our present mineral body was deposited the Moon was in that
particular sign and degree, (or its opposite), and acted then as a focus of
forces which have since crystallized into the vehicle we now wear.
The following table shows the affinity of each of the twelve signs with
certain gems, metals and colors, and in that chart there are the elements
for making an effective talisman by any individual who has the knowledge of
how to cast a horoscope and blend the ingredients according to the require-
ments of the case. We have no scruples about telling how this is done, for
it may help some to help themselves and others. The only harm it can do is
[PAGE 64] THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS
that it might induce some unscrupulous person to make tailsman for money and
even then, if he is conscientious about the work, whoever obtains them will
not be cheated, the re-action being upon the one who prostitutes the
spiritual science for material gain.
CHART OF BIRTH-STONES AND COLORS
SIGNS GEMS RULED BY THE SIGNS SIGN RULER METALS COLORS
ARIES Amethyst, Diamond Mars Iron Red
TUARUS Moss Agate, Emerald Venus Copper Yellow
GEMINI Crystal, Aqua Marine Mercury Mercury Violet
CANCER Emerald, Black Onyx Moon Silver Green
LEO Ruby, Diamond Sun Gold Orange
VIRGO Pink Jasper, Hyacinth Mercury Mercury Violet
LIBRA Diamond, Opal Venus Copper Yellow
SCORPIO Topaz, Malachite Mars Iron Red
SAGITTARIUS Carbuncle, Turquoise Jupiter Tin Blue
CAPRICORN White Onyx, Moonstone Saturn Lead Indigo
AQUARIUS Sapphire, Opal Saturn Lead Indigo
PISCES Chrysolite, Moonstone Jupiter Tin Blue
To forestall a question we may say that ancient astrologers who have
studied this aspect of the science have tabulated several hundred minerals
of which the planetary affinities had been noted, but these works have been
[PAGE 65] AMULETS, BIRTHSTONES, ETC..
mutilated in the course of time, and are now not available. Paracelsus and
also Agrippa, made considerable study of this subject, and with very impor-
tant results; but its extensive consideration is outside the scope of this
work, so the authors will confine their remarks to the essentials,
indicating the way which others may pursue if they feel so inclined.
To illustrate how the mineral elements may be used to advantage let us
take the following example: Suppose that in a certain horoscope we find
Sagittarius rising with its lord Jupiter on the Ascendant. Jupiter is then
the ruling planet and so, according to our chart turquoise is the person's
birthstone, tin, the metal with which he has affinity, and blue, his color.
That means that it will help him express himself if he wears turquoise, an
amulet of tin, and dresses in blue whenever consistent with custom. That is
true of a certain extent, but it is only a small part of the truth, and it
is by no means the best use that may be made of this knowledge.
To indicate the better way, let us suppose that this person's figure
shows severe afflictions by Mars and Saturn.
Mars afflicts three planets; his metal is iron, Venus is the opposite of
Mars; her metal is copper, and consequently copper is an antidote for the
martial vibrations.
Saturn afflicts one planet; his metal is lead. Jupiter is his opposite
[PAGE 66] THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS
and therefore the Jupiter metal, tin, is an antidote for the Saturian vibra-
tions.
With this in mind an amulet may be compounded of tin and copper not ex-
actly in the ratio of three to one, but with a mind on the bulk of the
various planets, their destiny and the strength of the aspects it is desired
to overcome, a matter which involves further study. The work itself should
be done under auspicious planetary conditions. A Mars amulet, designed to
give energy to one with a weak figure would be most successful if made in a
Mars-hour on a Tuesday when both the Sun and Moon are in martial signs as
happened in April and November. The same with amulets made for other plan-
ets. (See the Tables of Planetary Hours, in our SIMPLIFIED SCIENTIFIC AS-
TROLOGY.)
A gem or an amulet made on these principles is a focus of the stellar
rays of the planets it represents and infuses vibrations of their nature
into our auras all the while we are wearing it, just as surely as the wire-
less receiver attuned to a certain pitch catches the waves within its range;
and we may blend the colors in the same manner to obtain help from them. As
a matter of fact, it is the complementary color which is seen in the desire
world that produces the effect of the physical colors. If it is desired to
restrain one whose Mars is too prominent, the gems, colors and metals of
Saturn will help, and such a person should have as little to do with iron
(tools, machinery, etc..) as possible, but if we want to help someone who is
[PAGE 67] BEST TIME TO BE BORN
moody and taciturn, we may use the gems, colors and metals of Mars to advan-
tage. In the final analysis the matter resolves itself into a question of
judgment and common sense. With these, the knowledge concerning the essen-
tials here given may be used by anyone to advantage.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO BE BORN?
In the light of occult investigation of the subject it appears that birth
is an advent we are powerless to control; therefore when we seem to control
it in a slight degree we are really the agents of Destiny to precipitate or
delay it till the proper moment has arrived. This view is also justified by
the author's experience in Horary Astrology. The philosophy of Horary As-
trology is that at the time one is impelled to ask a question concerning an
important matter the heavens contain also the answer and a figure set is
when the inquirer asks the question of the astrologer, if this is done in
person; when it is done by mail the astrologer sets the figure for the time
he reads the question in the letter.
On a number of occasions we have received letters containing questions
which bore marks of having been delayed by flood or fire, but the figure
cast for the moment of reading gave the answer, showing that the delay had
[PAGE 68] THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS
a part in the plan, nor should it surprise us that the great Intelligences
which are the ministers of Destiny foresee and make allowance for contingen-
cies beyond the grasp of the human mind. When the Infinite Mind bestows
equal care upon the design of the anatomy of a fly, a mouse and a lion, may
we not conclude that a similar attention to the minutiae prevails in all de-
partments of life and that when we seem to delay or precipitate birth we are
really aiding nature to takes its predetermined course as said in the open-
ing sentence of this article.
Nevertheless people often ask the astrologer when is the best time to be
born; young astrologers also frequently want to know this, not that they
have any idea of controlling birth but so that on seeing a horoscope or be-
ing told a person's time of birth they may make a quick mental calculation
as to whether the horoscope is good or bad. Such a judgment would of
course, be founded only on the position of the sun by sign and approximate
house, hence general in the extreme. It may be said however that other
planetary positions being equal, it is better to be born when the Moon is
increasing in light from the new to the full than when she is decreasing
from the full to the new for the growing Moon always increases vitality and
furthers our affairs.
It is best to be born in April or August when the life-giving Sun is in
its exaltation sign Aries or Leo, its home, for then we enter the sea of
life on the crest-save and are backed in the battle of existence by an
[PAGE 69] BEST TIME TO BE BORN
abundant fund of vim and energy.
It is also good to be born in May or July when the life-light of the Sun
is focused thought the exaltation sign or home of the Moon, Taurus or Can-
cer, especially, as said, when the lesser light is increasing for those con-
ditions, also furnish an abundance of vitality which is such a great asset
in physical life.
With respect to the time of day most favorable for birth it may be said
that children born about sunrise, or during the forenoon from 8 to 12 while
the Sun is tranversing the houses of friends and social prestige are the
"luckiest" for they are helped on every hand. Children born between noon
and midnight are less "lucky" the nearer the Sun comes to the Nadir, and
them the "luck" turns again in favor of those born in the early morning
while the Daystar is ascending towards the eastern horizon. They will have
to carve their own way in the world, but opportunities will be given them in
abundance.
We may therefore sum up our conclusions by saying that it is best to be
born at Sunrise or in the forenoon, preferably in April or August when the
Moon is increasing in light.
Finally it should always be borne in mind that there is no "luck," in the
commonly accepted sense, for that which we have or lack in any respect is
due to our own actions in the past, and in the future we may by proper ap-
plication have what we now lack.