In the cosmic scheme of the universe, we find all things in balance. Balance seems to be a critical component of spiritual development, according to many ancient wisdom traditions, for it is in achieving balance in our own lives that we are able to live in alignment with dharma. And so it is with this in mind that I wish to reflect on the zodiac sign of Libra, the sign of the scales— its nature and qualities, its relationship to Venus and Saturn, the spiritual lessons it holds, related symbolism, and a number of unexpected esoteric connection points.
One need not have any familiarity with astrological traditions in order to appreciate a reflection on the esoteric interpretation of the themes encased within this zodiacal sign and the spiritual lessons contained therein. The zodiac is a reflection of the cosmos and thus a study of its construction can shed light on metaphysical reality and thus on man’s spiritual destiny. This will be our focus, rather than any technical discussion of astrology or practical applications of Libra in delineating a birth chart. However, we will first need to cover some basics.
Libra is the masculine, cardinal, air temple of Venus and among the primary themes associated with this sign that we will be considering are: balance, judgment, justice, fairness, evaluation, discernment, and beauty. When we say that Libra is the temple or domicile of Venus, we mean that Venus is the ruler of this sign and that it is a sign in which Venus, the planet of love, sensuality, and beauty, can most naturally express herself.
In Libra we find a beauty with a focus on form and harmonious balance, unlike the more organic, earthy beauty of Venus’ feminine domicile of Taurus. Libra represents a Venus informed by Spirit, while Taurus represents a beauty informed by Matter. Thus, in Venus’ masculine temple, the injection of Spirit, of an ordering principle that is related to the masculine, produces a well-ordered beauty. Libra is the beauty of a cathedral or a perfectly formed statue (beauty shaped by the higher mind), while Taurus is the natural beauty of the forest or a prairie of wildflowers. The degree to which we consider something beautiful is the degree to which it is harmonious and this harmony born out of orderliness is significant, as we shall soon see.
The Venutian orientation of the sign speaks to an intrinsic desire for harmony, peace, and balance. These are all qualities of a high spiritual state, particularly when we think of Peace in the more esoteric sense where it does not just mean an absence of conflict or struggle, but implies an alignment with the cosmic order. But where do we get judgment, evaluation, and discernment from? Surely these are not Venutian qualities. No, these qualities are more closely related to Libra’s significations around the afterlife and its connection to the planet, Saturn.
Libra is not just the domicile of Venus, but it is also the sign of the exaltation of Saturn. A planet in exaltation is said to be lifted on high, like an honoured guest in that sign, and the exaltation ruler can often speak to the highest virtues of a particular sign. Quite a special role for Saturn, a planet that is associated with dark, gloomy, and sometimes macabre things that seem to have little to do with the sensual, romantic nature of Venus. Saturn topically rules things like death, decay, impermanence, boundaries, things that are underground, ascetics, and otherworldly states of consciousness. In order to understand Saturn’s special role in the sign of Libra, as well as its esoteric importance, we need more context.
Because the tropical zodiac is tied to the equinoxes and the solstices, rather than the actual positions of the stars, the seasonal element is an important consideration if we are going to delve deeper into the meaning of this sign. Libra is the sign in which the encroaching darkness of longer nights begins to dominate after the autumnal equinox. The daylight is now getting shorter, the night is taking over, the feminine yin energy that darkness represents begins to rise. Symbolically, this is the entrance to the underworld, where the Sun will begin its journey through death and rebirth. Libra is thus the sign of the Sun’s fall— the opposite of exaltation and a very weakened position, astrologically speaking, because we now see the diminishment of solar light as it dies into winter. There are many myths that feature a solar hero making a descent or initiatic journey into the underworld. This is a journey that is known as the path of the Sun, or the deva-yana.
What happens in the underworld is judgment and the meting out of justice. In the Egyptian tradition, it was believed that your heart would be weighed against a feather in the hall of Ma’at (an analogous concept to dharma, Logos, Asha, etc- all terms that speak to the ultimate cosmic order). It is in this judgment that one’s true Self would be revealed. A more exoteric understanding of this is the idea that your actions, thoughts, motivations, and intentions are judged, but because the esoteric interpretation of this pertains to the Path of the Sun, the judgment is more related to whether or not the person managed to develop a higher Self, a spirit or a nous, something that could function as a “vessel” to carry his consciousness beyond death. To have a heart lighter than a feather is to have a pure heart, a heart filled with spiritual love, and this is well represented by the highest expressions of Venus’ airy, masculine temple.
It is important to note that there is a profane sense of justice (the sort of “eye for an eye” type) and a sacred sense of Justice, which pertains not to manmade laws, but to the Law from Above. Sacred Justice, like Peace, has everything to do with an alignment with divine reality. To see divine reality is to see justly and fairly, it is to see Truth. And when one sees Truth and aligns himself with it, he participates in the higher Peace, he develops an inner equilibrium and balance or authentic “inner peace”. When you can see with divine wisdom, unattached to the illusory material world, this is when the heart becomes lighter than a feather and is ready to tread the Path of the Sun. As those who have studied the spiritual traditions in which such teachings are laid out will know, this Path of the Sun is often one of renunciation and a shedding of material attachments- a very Saturnian approach in many ways, but we must go through the lead of Saturn to reach the gold of the Sun.
In traditional astrology, each aspectual planetary relationship is said to be “of the nature of” a specific planet. The aspect that is of the nature of Saturn is the opposition— when two planets are at opposite ends of a pole and find themselves in a relationship to each other that is at a stalemate, where they will never come to a resolution. Oppositions are of the nature of Saturn because he represents boundaries, including the boundaries between order and chaos or life and death, the liminal space between two worlds. And the gates to the underworld where one’s fate in the afterlife is decided is very much a liminal space, a transition from one state of being to the next. In a birth chart, an opposition indicates a perpetual tension in the native’s life between whatever is symbolised by those two planets. The challenge for the native is usually to find a way to stop swinging from one extreme to the other and develop the skills that can hold the tension of duality in balance, where a harmonious synthesis can be found, echoing the themes of the Libran scales.
How do we achieve this balance, this “inner peace”, this “light heart”? This is where the contemplative nature of Saturn becomes crucial and is perhaps the esoteric rationale for Saturn’s exaltation in the sign of Libra. For in order to pass the test of the scales, to achieve a heart lighter than a feather, one must be fully in alignment with the ultimate Truth of the cosmos, as we have already said. We reach this state through spiritual practice that helps us come to terms with the impermanence of material reality, and by breaking our sensory attachments to the material world.
Nothing in this world can we take with us to the afterlife. There is no coin that can buy passage to the deva-yana. The only currency the ferryman will accept is the pure essence of one’s soul, the distilled Self, which is cultivated as one practices detachment, stripping away everything that is conditioned and illusory. You are not your possessions. You are not your social roles. You are not your desires. You are not your name. You are not your body. All of these things are impermanent and ultimately unReal. To have a light heart, one must shed all of these false identifications and break all sensory cravings that weigh the heart down and obscure the Self in nescience.
The symbolism of the heart has a close relationship with the symbolism of the cave. Caves fall under Saturn’s governorship and, as underground places which were frequently used for sacred initiatic purposes, often represent spiritual centres. By centre, we mean a point of irruption of the sacred into the profane, the orienting point around which order coalesces. The heart is also a symbol of this kind of centre, both on a microcosmic and macrocosmic level. The “cave of the heart” is both the centre of Being in an individual and that of a “World”, in the cosmic sense.
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