From the notes of a talk given at the
United Lodge of Theosophists in London, England

“Let no one imagine that it is a mere fancy, the attaching of importance to the birth of the year.” These are the words of H. P. Blavatsky from her January 1888 article which was simply titled “1888.” She continued by saying:

“The earth passes through its definite phases and man with it; and as a day can be coloured so can a year. The astral life of the earth is young and strong between Christmas and Easter. Those who form their wishes now will have added strength to fulfill them consistently.”

Astrologically, “between Christmas and Easter” means between Capricorn and Aries, if one is using tropical astrology, i.e. Western astrology, or between Sagittarius and Pisces, if one is using the more ancient sidereal astrology, best represented today as Vedic astrology. HPB affirmed that the sidereal system of astrology is the more truly reliable and esoterically accurate. The differences between the two, along with what HPB had to say on these points, can be found in our article Esoteric and Vedic Astrology. As you may know, each of the twelve astrological or zodiacal months begins, in the Western system, between the 20th to 24th of one of our calendar months, approximately speaking, and in the Eastern system between the 13th to 17th of a month. So the date the calendar month begins is not the same as the date the astrological month begins, though presumably it ought to be.

This brief but significant passage that we just shared from HPB is often misremembered or misquoted by Theosophists. Many think of it as saying that the astral light is young and strong and impressionable between Christmas and Easter but it says astral life, the astral life of the Earth. Perhaps we might really say that the astral life of the Earth is young and strong between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. The phrase “astral life” may well relate to “astral light” but the two are probably not intended to be taken as synonymous.

Far from being renewed or reborn every twelve months, the astral light – which is the psychic atmosphere of our planet and the vast recording and reflecting tablet or screen of humanity’s thoughts and acts – is only refreshed and rejuvenated at the close of manvantaric cycles, extremely long periods of time. This is what we read in “The Secret Doctrine” and elsewhere. So it’s for us to think what “the astral life of the earth” might actually mean. The most crucial thing is to realise and remember that the first and opening period of a new year is a very important and potent time, psychically and mentally, and – we could also add – spiritually.

In an article by Robert Crosbie, titled “New Year’s Resolutions,” he explains:

“Unconsciously to ourselves, it may be, we have a natural perception of occult law in our observance of this particular period of the year. The ancients celebrated and understood what was called by them “the birth of the Sun,” or the return of the Sun on its northern course, beginning the 21st of December. They knew that all the occult forces in nature have an upward and increasing tendency at the return of the Sun. When the Sun’s rays become warmer and stronger, all the other forces behind the Sun itself, and behind ourselves, become stronger within us. In the rising wave of spiritual and psychic renewal, all that we desire to do has a greater impulsion than at some other time of the year.”

HPB made another important statement regarding the New Year, in her January 1890 article titled “1890! On The New Year’s Morrow.” She said:

“To be brief, it is January the 4th which ought to be selected by the Theosophists – the Esotericists especially – as their New Year. January is under the sign of Capricornus, the mysterious Makara of the Hindu mystics – the “Kumaras,” it being stated, having incarnated in mankind under the 10th sign of the Zodiac. For ages the 4th of January has been sacred to Mercury-Budha, or Thoth-Hermes. Thus everything combines to make of it a festival to be held by those who study ancient Wisdom.”

And so, Theosophists often speak of 4th January as the Esoteric New Year or the Theosophical New Year. The word in that statement from HPB is not “Buddha” but “Budha” with one “d” and which is not another name for Gautama Buddha but is a different word in Sanskrit. It is the name in Hinduism for the planet which we call “Mercury” and which has always represented Wisdom.

There is an astronomical connection with 4th January as well, as this is the time when the annual occurrence known as the Perihelion occurs. What is Perihelion? It’s the day of the year when the Earth is at its closest, its nearest in distance, to the Sun. It’s still 91.4 million miles away but that’s 3 million miles closer than when it’s at its most distant point from the Sun, which usually occurs in early July and is known as the Aphelion.

All students of Theosophy know and realise that the Sun represents and symbolises Spirit and the highermost part of our being, and also that the Sun in the sky is an actual focus and transmitter on the physical plane of certain aspects of the life and force and energy of what we sometimes call the Central Spiritual Sun or the Great Central Sun, which is a Kabbalistic term for the Logos, the one all-ensouling light and life of the Universe. So the fact of being a few million miles closer to the sun must presumably have some significant effect and impact on our planet and on all of us who live on this planet.

The Perihelion isn’t always on 4th January though; in 2021 it was on the 2nd, but in 2022 was indeed on 4th January and will be in 2023 also, though of course that’s for particular time zones, so it won’t be on the 4th for every single time zone in the world. In the UK and USA, however, 2022’s Perihelion occured on Tuesday 4th January. In the UK, it was at 6.52 in the morning.

We mention all of that in order to say that 4th January and Perihelion must be closely related but are seemingly not exactly the same thing, for HPB specifically names the date of “the 4th of January,” not once but twice, and identifies that date – not 2nd January, not the 3rd or 5th of January, but the 4th – as being the day that Theosophists and especially the more esoterically inclined (or in other words, the more serious, devoted, and committed) should take as their New Year’s Day. And 4th January, if we stop to think about it, is exactly 14 days (twice seven) from 21st December, which is almost always the date of the Winter Solstice and almost always the date that – according to tropical astrology – the month of Capricorn, which in Sanskrit is called Makara, begins.

Let’s try now to delve deeper into the reference to Capricorn and the Kumaras who – to quote HPB – “incarnated in mankind under the 10th sign of the Zodiac,” i.e. under Capricorn.

This refers to one of the most central, fundamental, and frequently stated teachings of the Esoteric Philosophy and it relates directly to Manas, particularly the Higher Manas, the higher and immortal Mind Principle in the human being; this Principle or component of our inner constitution being also called the human soul and the reincarnating permanent individuality or Ego. “Ego” literally means “I” and it isn’t an inherently bad or negative word at all. Our deep abiding sense of being an “I” comes from the fact of the presence of this higher, immortal Ego within us. There is a difference, explains “The Theosophical Glossary” (p. 111), between egoity or selfhood and egoism or selfishness.

“The Theosophical Glossary” is a very valuable source of information and in its entry for “Capricorn” or “Capricornus” on p. 73 HPB says that “on account of its hidden meaning [it is] the most important among the constellations of the mysterious Zodiac. It is fully described in the Secret Doctrine, and therefore needs but a few words more. . . . Everything in Nature is intimately correlated to the rest, and therefore the students of ancient lore will not be too much surprised when told that even the seven steps taken in the direction of every one of the four points of the compass, or – 28 steps – taken by the new-born infant Buddha, are closely related to the 28 stars of the constellation of Capricornus.”

The Theosophical teachings tell us that the sign of Makara or Capricorn is connected with both “the birth of the spiritual “microcosm,” [i.e. the real Man, proper self-conscious humanity] and the death or dissolution of the physical Universe [i.e. macrocosm]” and its passage back into the realm of the unmanifested, the purely spiritual. And what the Trans-Himalayan Esoteric Buddhists call the Dhyan Chohans and the Hindus call the Kumaras, are connected with both these events. (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 579)

To quote from p. 576 of the same volume: “Every one knows that [Capricorn] is the tenth sign of the Zodiac into which the Sun enters at the winter solstice, about December 21st. But very few are those who know – even in India, unless they are initiated – the real mystic connection which seems to exist, as we are told, between the names Makara and Kumara.” At various points in “The Secret Doctrine” it’s mentioned how in Sanskrit “Makara” and “Kumara” are anagrams of one another.

This now brings us on to the subject of the Seven Hierarchies.

The Masters and HPB write in “The Secret Doctrine” that there are seven hierarchies, groups, or orders, within the twelve great Orders of Celestial Beings. These are sometimes described as “The Celestial Hierarchy,” “Hierarchies of Dhyan Chohans,” and “The Seven Orders of Dhyanis.” One might speak of them as seven angelic hierarchies or hierarchies of Angels but as that term has such anthropomorphic and theological connotations – in religions as well as in the New Age Movement – we’re better off sticking with these other terms, which are less likely to conjure up misleading Christian-style pictures in our imaginations.

Between pages 213-233 of the first volume (titled “Cosmogenesis”) of “The Secret Doctrine,” we are granted a glimpse into this deeply esoteric subject. It begins by saying that there are 12 great Orders of spiritual beings, which are “recorded in the twelve signs of the Zodiac.” So in some way or other the 12 great Orders are connected with and represented by the 12 Zodiacal signs and constellations: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces, to use the names with which we in the West are the most familiar.

4 of those 12 have already reached liberation, completed what they have to do, and are now inactive for the whole of the duration of the remainder of the Universal Life Cycle or Age of Brahmā. This is from Vol. 2, p. 77, which further says that “the fifth is ready to reach it, but still remains active on the intellectual planes, while seven are still under direct Karmic Law.” These are called (Vol. 1, p. 213) “the seven of the manifesting scale,” the 7 which are still in operation, in activity, and engaged in some great cosmic work and function for the upliftment and evolutionary benefit of the whole.

As all groups of 7 in Nature correspond to one another and have some type of connection and relation between themselves, so these 7 Dhyan Chohanic Hierarchies – which are cosmic, above and beyond the planets of our solar system – nevertheless have a connection with the 7 sacred planets in our solar system, a metaphysical correspondence with those planets, the planets serving as form of focus or “ray” through which the energies of those 7 Hierarchies reach us and our planet Earth.

What are the 7 sacred planets? There are more than seven planets as we all know but there are only 7 which have a very special and direct relation with ours. Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, are five and traditionally people have added the Sun and the Moon to make seven but those two are only exoteric substitutes for two “mystery planets.” Those two “mystery planets” were not permitted by the Initiates and Adepts to be publicly referred to and identified in days of old. The Sun is not a planet. It is the central Star of our solar system. The moon is a dead planet, a decaying remnant which was the previous incarnation of our planet, before the Earth we live on today came into existence.

The Moon was the exoteric substitute for what is described in “Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge” as “a planet with a retrograde motion, sometimes visible at a certain hour of night and apparently near the moon. The occult influence of this planet is transmitted by the moon.” (p. 48)

And the Sun was the substitute for a trans-Mercurial planet. In the book “The Secret Doctrine Dialogues,” published just a few years ago, we find HPB telling her students that this trans-Mercurial or inter-Mercurial planet is “the planet between Mercury and the Sun.” It is closer to the Sun than Mercury is and in Victorian times it was recognised for a while under the name of Vulcan. HPB says it “is one of the most sacred planets,” adding, “It was the beginning of the Fourth Race and then it went off. [Note: Or in other words, it came to the final end of its cycle, the close of the Seventh Round on that Globe and that was back at the close of the Lemurian Epoch and start of the Atlantean] . . . It is in its last obscuration. It will be seen from Mercury. It will be a moon, when there will be some other planet produced [from it]. There are figures for it. . . . They wanted to call it Vulcan; they say that they suspected. I don’t know what some of them said; others deny it. . . . it is in its last brightness.” (p. 319, 399)

And let’s remember that these sacred truths, of which this is just one of many, had never before been revealed to the world until the Mahatmas’ Direct Agent and public Representative H. P. Blavatsky was instructed to do so.

But as for the 7 Hierarchies, let’s see what is said about them, seeing as we want to understand the significance of 4th January and Capricorn. We’ll find that they correspond to a large extent with the 7 Principles of the human constitution. “The Secret Doctrine” (Vol. 1, p. 213, 216, 218-219, 221, 233) briefly summarises them as follows:

Number 1 – “The highest group is composed of the divine Flames, so-called, also spoken of as the “Fiery Lions” and the “Lions of Life,” whose esotericism is securely hidden in the Zodiacal sign of Leo. It is the nucleole of the superior divine World. They are the formless Fiery Breaths, identical in one aspect with the upper Sephirothal TRIAD, which is placed by the Kabalists in the “Archetypal World.””

Number 2 – “The second Order of Celestial Beings, those of Fire and AEther (corresponding to Spirit and Soul, or the Atma-Buddhi) whose names are legion, are still formless, but more definitely “substantial.” . . . As the name shows, they are the prototypes of the incarnating Jivas or Monads, and are composed of the Fiery Spirit of Life. It is through these that passes like a pure solar beam, the ray which is furnished by them with its future vehicle, the Divine Soul, Buddhi. These are directly concerned with the Hosts of the higher world of our system [i.e. possibly a reference to Mercury, the closest visible planet to the sun]. From these twofold Units emanate the threefold.”

Number 3 – “The Third order corresponds to the Atma-Buddhi-Manas: Spirit, Soul and Intellect, and is called the “Triads.””

Number 4 – “The Fourth are substantial Entities. This is the highest group among the Rupas (Atomic Forms). It is the nursery of the human, conscious, spiritual Souls. They are called the “Imperishable Jivas,” and constitute, through the order below their own, the first group of the first septenary host – the great mystery of human conscious and intellectual Being.”

Number 5 [Note: This is the one we’re most interested in, in connection with our subject] – “The Fifth group is a very mysterious one, as it is connected with the Microcosmic Pentagon, the five-pointed star representing man. In India and Egypt these Dhyanis were connected with the Crocodile, and their abode is in Capricornus. These are convertible terms in Indian astrology, as this (tenth) sign of the Zodiac is called Makara, loosely translated “crocodile.” . . . The fifth group of the celestial Beings is supposed to contain in itself the dual attributes of both the spiritual and physical aspects of the Universe; the two poles, so to say, of Mahat the Universal Intelligence, and the dual nature of man, the spiritual and the physical. Hence its number Five, multiplied [i.e. by 2] and made into ten, connecting it with Makara, the 10th sign of Zodiac. . . . It becomes the task of the fifth Hierarchy – the mysterious beings that preside over the constellation Capricornus, Makara, or “Crocodile” in India as in Egypt – to inform the empty and ethereal animal form [i.e. in the early period – specifically the Third or Lemurian Root Race – of humanity’s evolution on this globe in this Fourth Round] and make of it the Rational Man. This is one of those subjects upon which very little may be said to the general public. It is a MYSTERY, truly but only to him who is prepared to reject the existence of intellectual and conscious spiritual Beings in the Universe, . . . Many are those among the Spiritual Entities, who have incarnated bodily in man, since the beginning of his appearance, and who, for all that, still exist as independently as they did before, in the infinitudes of Space. . . . To put it more clearly: the invisible Entity may be bodily present on earth without abandoning, however, its status and functions in the supersensuous regions.”

And finally, Numbers 6 & 7 – “The sixth and seventh groups partake of the lower qualities of the Quaternary. They are conscious, ethereal Entities, as invisible as Ether . . . as it is the Sixth – on the downward scale of Spirituality – the last and seventh being the terrestrial Spirits (elementals) which gradually form, build, and condense his physical body – this Sixth group evolves no more than the future man’s shadowy form, a filmy, hardly visible transparent copy of themselves. . . . This sixth group, moreover, remains almost inseparable from man, who draws from it all but his highest and lowest principles, or his spirit and body, the five middle human principles being the very essence of those Dhyanis. Alone, the Divine Ray (the Atman) proceeds directly from the One.”

There is probably no Theosophist who entirely understands all of the points mentioned in those passages, but they do contain interesting and important truths which are worth being aware of.

Earlier, we saw that the Kumaras incarnated in humanity under the sign of Makara or Capricorn. And now we’ve just seen also that their abode – whatever that term may mean for such entities as these – is in Capricorn and that they are the mysterious beings who preside over the constellation of Capricorn. Each year, the astrological month of Capricorn is the month which is under the particular influence and energy of that constellation, or rather of the unseen Hierarchy behind it.

What do we mean when we say that these beings incarnated in humanity and transformed “animal man” into “rational man”? Well, these Kumaras (which literally and at the same time symbolically means “virgin youths”) are also referred to by various other names, such as the Sons of Wisdom, Lords of the Flame, Solar Pitris, Agnishvattas (meaning “the fire-purified,” “those who have tasted the fire”) and the Manasaputras – which literally means “the Sons of the Universal Mind.” “The Secret Doctrine” shows that collectively they are also what is meant by Prometheus in Greek mythology and they are also Lucifer, which means “Lightbringer” or “Lightbearer.” Hence B. P. Wadia calls the Manasaputras or Kumaras “the Luciferian Host” in his article “The Law of Karma” in the book “Studies in The Secret Doctrine.” Below we have linked to an article which should help to make clear that Theosophy’s positive use of the term “Lucifer” is not Satanism and is not even in opposition to the Christian Bible.

In “The Key to Theosophy” HPB says that their mass descent or incarnation en masse into the thus far mindless and actually soulless “animal men” of the Lemurian Root Race was these entities becoming our true inner spiritual Individuality.

We are Them . . . They are us . . . our Higher Manas principle . . . a Being of Light, truly, but which is of such gloriously radiant purity and intensely spiritual vibration that it can only become embodied on this dense physical plane through a lower self, a persona, a personality, our personal selves . . . and the personal self or personal ego – that aspect of us which the world sees – is in almost every case flawed and marred by our own Karma.

Yet the Manasaputra is always perfect and omniscient on its own plane and is an individualised Ray of the Universal Mind. We each have our own Inner God, our “Father” in the “Heavens” and it is this God, rather than our psyche or personality, which is our true “I.”

Technically speaking, this is not our Higher Self, since the latter is Atma or Atman and not a being, entity, or ego-self of any kind whatsoever; instead, the Manasaputra is called our Higher Ego, which is the Higher Manas, the Noetic Principle, the Nous of ancient Greek philosophy. The light of Atma radiates through the lamp of Buddhi and these both are centred, focused, or focalised, within the Higher Manas.

As many people as there are on Earth, there are as many Gods in the Heavens, overshadowing or rather overbrooding and illuminating them, and these are the informing and animating souls of humanity. These are the Manasaputras, the Kumaras we are talking about, and they made their incarnation into mankind under the influence of Capricorn. Whether HPB’s statement literally means that this event – often referred to by students of Theosophy as “the lighting up of Manas” – occurred in the months of December and/or January is not clear but we do know that whenever it took place it was certainly under the occult influence of Capricorn, Makara.

Let us conclude with a passage from p. 52-54 of “The Ocean of Theosophy” written by William Q. Judge:

“The course of evolution developed the lower principles and produced at last the form of man with a brain of better and deeper capacity than that of any other animal. But this man in form was not man in mind, and needed the fifth principle, the thinking, perceiving one, to differentiate him from the animal kingdom and to confer the power of becoming self-conscious. The monad was imprisoned in these forms, and that monad is composed of Atma and Buddhi; for, without the presence of the monad, evolution could not go forward. Going back for a moment to the time when the races were devoid of mind, the question arises, “who gave the mind, where did it come from, and what is it?” It is the link between the Spirit of God above and the personal below; it was given to the mindless monads by others who had gone all through this process ages upon ages before in other worlds and systems of worlds, and it therefore came from other evolutionary periods which were carried out and completed long before the solar system had begun. This is the theory, strange and unacceptable today, but which must be stated if we are to tell the truth about Theosophy; and this is only handing on what others have said before. . . .

“The mindless men having four elementary principles of Body, Astral Body, Life and Desire, are the unlighted candles that cannot light themselves. The Sons of Wisdom, who are the Elder Brothers of every family of men on any globe, have the light, . . .They set fire to the combined lower principles and the Monad, thus lighting up Manas in the new men and preparing another great race for final initiation.”

~ * ~

FROM “LIGHT ON THE PATH”

“In one of the great mystic Brotherhoods, there are four ceremonies, that take place early in the year, which practically illustrate and elucidate these aphorisms [i.e. a reference to the first four unnumbered “rules” on p. 1 of “Light on The Path,” which can be found here]. They are ceremonies in which only novices take part, for they are simply services of the threshold. But it will show how serious a thing it is to become a disciple, when it is understood that these are all ceremonies of sacrifice. The first one is this of which I have been speaking. The keenest enjoyment, the bitterest pain, the anguish of loss and despair, are brought to bear on the trembling soul, which has not yet found light in the darkness, which is helpless as a blind man is, and until these shocks can be endured without loss of equilibrium the astral senses must remain sealed. This is the merciful law.” (p. 40)

“The voice of the Masters is always in the world; but only those hear it whose ears are no longer receptive of the sounds which affect the personal life. Laughter no longer lightens the heart, anger may no longer enrage it, tender words bring it no balm. For that within, to which the ears are as an outer gateway, is an unshaken place of peace in itself which no person can disturb.

“As the eyes are the windows of the soul, so are the ears its gateways or doors. Through them comes knowledge of the confusion of the world. The great ones who have conquered life, who have become more than disciples, stand at peace and undisturbed amid the vibration and kaleidoscopic movement of humanity. They hold within themselves a certain knowledge, as well as a perfect peace; and thus they are not roused or excited by the partial and erroneous fragments of information which are brought to their ears by the changing voices of those around them.” (p. 47)

~ BlavatskyTheosophy.com ~

This article may have raised more questions about various things. Please make use of the site search function (the magnifying glass symbol at the top of the page) and visit the Articles page to see the complete list of over 400 articles covering all aspects of Theosophy and the Theosophical Movement.

A few articles closely related to themes mentioned in this one are Birthdays of The Dhyanis, Some Reflections on Christmas, Elementals and The Astral Light, Understanding Our Seven Principles, Ego Is Not A Bad Word, Manas – The Mystery of Mind, Human Evolution in The Secret Doctrine, Lucifer The Lightbringer, Understanding The Seven Kumaras, Theosophy on The New Age of Aquarius, Esoteric and Vedic Astrology, The Zodiac and Ourselves, The Monad and The Ego are an Eternal Triad, A Beginner’s Guide To Studying “The Secret Doctrine”, Our Sun and The True Sun, and Understanding The Logos.