Horoscopes
Zodiac Signs
Welcome to a series about the Great Minds in Astrology. These posts will look at the key thinkers and practitioners in the field of astrology, from ancient to contemporary times. Numerous men and women have made significant contributions to astrology. These Great Minds provide a large bibliography of writings worth reading and putting into your own astrology library. This article will distill a thinker’s essential and many contributions, and provide a book list of their key works. As with any thinkers who write extensively, some books stand out more than others, and these will be identified. Some works have practical application and others are theoretical, depending on whether or not you wish to practice astrology or just study it. This article will talk about Alice Bailey.
Alice Ann Bailey (born 6/16/1880 – died 12/15/1949) was a writer of more than twenty-four books on esoteric subjects. She was born in Manchester, England and moved to the United States in 1907, where she spent most of her life as a writer and teacher. Her many books only include two that specifically deal with astrology:
Esoterically speaking, there is only one life, which has seven basic qualities. These seven qualities are known as the Seven Rays. Souls reincarnate to gather the full knowledge of the Ray they represent.
“According to Alice A. Bailey, each person has a soul ray that remains the same through all their incarnations, and a personality ray that is different for each incarnation. Each ray is also correspondent with certain Masters of Wisdom, and with particular planets, cycles, nations, etc. The seven rays are the basis for what Alice A. Bailey called New Age Psychology—she divides everyone in the human race into these seven psychological types.” (Wikipedia)
C.W. Leadbeater, a member of the Theosophical Society, assigned each Ray to concepts of magic:
In volume 3 of the Treatise on the Seven Rays, Alice Bailey laid out the astrological connection with the Seven Rays.
To learn more about the seven rays, read our dedicated article!
Astrology is described in this book as “the science of relationships”–the relationship existing between all living organisms within the universe. Not only do the qualities of the ray energies affect these centres of consciousness, but also the quality and energy of the ruling planets and the zodiacal signs. Seen from the exoteric outside, astrology is a vast and most involved and complex subject. From the esoteric inside, while it is still vast, all-inclusive and complex, it is also possible to perceive the thread which unites and the pattern which prevails throughout the whole system. A basic simplicity in the grand design emerges, therefore, which can serve to interpret the whole.
The Labours of Hercules is a vivid narrative describing the journey of the soul through the twelve signs of the zodiac, as viewed from the myth of Hercules. The text is based upon a series of lectures given by Alice A. Bailey and is an excellent introduction to an understanding of esoteric astrology. This book is an insightful addition to the 24 volume set of books by Alice A. Bailey, written in cooperation with a Master of the Wisdom, a body of esoteric teachings handed down from ancient times in a form which is always suitable to each period.
Source: https://trita.net/images/alice-ann-bailey.jpg
