the-astrology-book

level of the universe. Movement through the Ray of Creation is downward, or involutionary,
as a result of a passively reconciling third force, and upward, or evolutionary,
as a result of an actively reconciling third force.
Elements
Gurdjieff followed occultist Helena Blavatsky in renaming the occult elements
of fire, earth, air, and water, respectively, “carbon,” “oxygen,” “nitrogen,” and “hydrogen.”
Each substance can be the conductor of an active, passive, or reconciling force.
When the force is active the substance is termed “carbon,” when passive “oxygen,”
and when reconciling “nitrogen.” A substance that does not conduct a force is termed
“hydrogen.” Taken together, Gurdjieff’s three forces in relation to the four elements
may be expressed in astrological terms as the zodiac of 12 signs, in which each of the
four elements is expressed in the cardinal, fixed, and mutable modes.
Types and Signs of the Zodiac
Gurdjieff referred to a “science of types” that could be recognized only through
study. Elsewhere Gurdjieff wrote of the necessity of finding the 28 types he needed for
his own observations, which might be equated with lunar rather than solar types.
Astrology deals only with a man’s essence, and Gurdjieff equates essence with
type. Astrological signs were “invented” to synthesize the specific characteristics a
person would have to struggle against during his or her life.
Planetary Influence
Gurdjieff taught that “planets have a tremendous influence” on mankind as a
whole. For example, they are a cause of war, and they influence individuals whose
lives are “colored” by the planetary influence received at birth and who remain slaves
to these influences throughout life.
Fate
Astrology effects only a person’s “essence” (i.e., his essential nature) and determines
a person’s fate. The Law of Accident controls his or her personality. Fate may be
worse than accident, but has the advantage that it can be foreseen, while accident cannot.
Gurdjieff’s Enneagram as a Symbol of the Zodiac
Gurdjieff’s cosmic laws are integrated in this diagram. The 3-6-9 triangle represents
the Law of Three. The sequence of numbers 1 through 7 represents the Law of
Seven. This recurring sequence is derived from the division of 1 by 7. Gurdjieff
expands the Law of Seven numerologically to nine by including “intervals” or semitones,
places where “shocks are required for the octave to flow on.” Here points 3, 6,
and 9 represent “intervals.”
In Cabalistic terms, the Laws of Three and Seven may be represented by the
Tree of Life in the three realms of Kether, Binah, and Chokmah, and the seven realms of
Gurdjieff, George Ivanovitch
THE ASTROLOGY BOOK
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