It seems to me that we have a Lost Generation that is wandering around and latching on to any seemingly “just cause” as a sleepwalker would blindly grab the bannisters along the landing. This is not their fault. Man lives on stories, and if he is not given the right story upon which to map out of his life, then any old story will have to do.
Whether or not this state of affairs has been deliberately engendered, or has been created out of neglect, I will leave others to ponder.
However, it seems to me that those afflicted by various mental derangements as a result of the never-ending information war being waged against us, would greatly benefit from the structure and meaning that is found in much older stories to guide them through the maze.
For more than a thousand years, the stories that clothed the mysteries of the Christian religion have provided that safe cognitive haven from the horsemen of the Apocalypse.
No matter that most churchgoers did not understand the mystical metaphors that these gospel stories contained, nor had been taught how to decipher and decode the secret language hiding under the superficial tale of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not everyone at any one time will be seeking spiritual enlightenment – far from it. But ordinary folk were still able to subconsciously imbibe enough of these rich wisdom teachings so that the characters that peopled them played out in their dreams at night to inform and guide them, and this gave them enough of a sense of purpose, structure and meaning that benefitted the richness of their lives and of those around them.
If you were an adept of these Mystery teachings that emanated originally from the schools of the ancient philosophers, it would be said that you had the “knowledge of the stars”. This is because you were consciously walking the route of realisations about the workings of the cosmos, of which the human being is a holographic part, and whose path was written in the stars.
The knowledge of the progress of our lives is shown in the location of the stars and planets at the time of our birth, and this positioning sets into motion the various events and landmarks that are of an alchemical, elemental nature. In facing them, we grow spiritually and ultimately transform into a new life and new world, whether in this life or the next one. It is the real meaning of the word “resurrection”.
That is why the artworks and architecture of Gnostic cathedrals are so full of astrological and alchemical symbolism.
But we don’t need to be astrologers or alchemists to benefit from the understories of the Bible because just in listening to them, our race memories are sparked into rememberance on a deeper level, and the listener is taken down a road in their dreams and visions that is governed by the wayshowers of the four cardinal virtues.
So what are the four cardinal virtues?
The medieval Dominican monk St Thomas Aquinas transcribed and passed on these four cardinal virtues from the Greek philosophers who had lived and dispensed their wisdom many centuries before him, such as Plato and Aristotle.
Thomas had studied logic, theology, botany, geography, astronomy, astrology, alchemy, zoology, physiology, phrenology, justice and law under the most famous philosopher of his day, Albert Magnus. Eventually, he was considered to be one of the wisest adepts of the “knowledge of the stars” on the planet.
Here St Thomas is shown at the centre of the Three Worlds with the teachings in his hands which, if we follow them, will connect us to the Above and to the Below.
It is my belief that a return to the four cardinal virtues of St Thomas Aquinas would reinstate the meaning and purpose to all our lives, but most especially, it would give us guidance about how to deal with those who are currently so lost they are trying to drag us all off a cliff. I think this would make St Thomas Aquinas an ideal shepherd philosopher to guide us into the Aquarian Age.
One could probably write a whole chapter on each of the four virtues, and I don’t want to damn St Thomas’s excellent work with faint praise by presenting it as so much less than it really is. At the same time, I feel it’s important to distill out some basics tenets which, in grasping them, would help us with the restoration of sanity in the information war.
So with apologies to St Thomas on this his feast day: here are my thoughts on how we could benefit by applying the four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and strength.
Prudence
The goddess of Prudence is traditionally shown with variously a book, a scroll and a mirror, and sometimes she is being attacked by a serpent.
The quality of prudence is usually described as being about the ability to grow, husband and conserve our own resources, so that we are not a burden on others. Sadly, this understanding of how economics works in a healthy society seems to be missing in those who believe that the state should provide everything. They don’t seem to realise who funds the Money Tree of the state. Bernie Sanders recently admitted that he didn’t know how much his proposed free-for-all healthcare system would cost America; that is highly imprudent.
The absence of the value of prudence seems to be key to much of the madness and derangement of those who viciously attack people who hold different views to their own. This kind of savaging online is known as ad hominem – a Latin term referring to when, instead of engaging reasonably and rationally with the strengths and weaknesses of someone’s argument, you turn them into the devil in your mind, and then you mount an hysterical attack on their perceived character from that deluded perspective.
The ad hominem attack is so often so vicious, ugly and crude that one can sometimes wonder why the attacker cannot see their own demeanor and stop in shame. However, it seems that they have no self-reflection. Like a vampire, they cannot see themselves in such a mirror.
Prudence is often shown carrying a mirror, for the purposes of self-reflection. Being able see oneself helps in being able to see others more clearly – to see the other’s point of view and how they reached it.
In this scene from Pope Gregory II’s tomb, Prudence is grabbing the attacking wolf-headed serpent by the throat.
Friends and I have jokingly wondered if that engraving is the equivalent of blocking the deranged trolls on Twitter!
Prudence is associated astrologically with Mercury exalted in and governing Virgo, This means enlightened intellect, sadly lacking in some these days.
It is the Eight of Pentacles or Discs and in the Thoth Tarot deck, Frieda Harris illustrated it as a healthy Tree of Life, bearing many fruits. It reminds me of the adage about the wise and compassionate man who plants the seed of a tree even though he won’t live long enough to benefit from its shade.
Justice
The goddess of Justice is traditionally shown with variously a sword, a balance and scales, and a crown.
Nobody who reads this blog needs any explanation about the word ‘justice’. Nor will they not have noticed that the globalists’ main line of attack in the information war involves riding a coach and horses through the laws and constitutions of the sovereign nations they wish to take over, and making a travesty of due process.
One of the tactics has been to devalue the meaning of the word ‘justice’ by coupling it in the minds of the distracted and demented with a qualifier, such as “climate justice” or “social justice”. This instantly links justice with the favourite cause of the debater, implying that justice can only be found in the levying of CO2 regulations and carbon taxes, or by self-identified “victim groups” receiving copious state handouts.
Justice is justice – it doesn’t need any qualifier. It is exercised by due process – i.e. weighing the pros and cons or an argument in the balance, which is why the goddess of Justice is always shown holding the scales. When people don’t know enough about an issue to be able to argue the pros and cons, they often resort to bumper sticker terms like “climate justice” or “social justice” to make their case. And when that doesn’t work, they revert to hysterical, imprudent ad hominens, and accusations of being “judgemental” as if merely using the sword of discrimination was a sin.
Justice is associated with Libra, which is why the symbol of Libra is the scales, as shown here in Frieda Harris’s illustration of Justice or Adjustment in the Major Arcana of the Thoth tarot.
Temperance
The goddess of Temperance is traditionally shown variously with a wheel, a bridle and reins, vegetables and fish, a cup or water and wine being poured from two jugs.
People often wrongly conflate the concept of temperance with being abstemious with alcohol or of being “on the wagon”. It is not about that. It is about an alchemical process – perhaps better illustrated by the Chinese alchemical concept of ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ being in a continual, flowing ‘dance’, with one another.
In this way, Temperance provides the means to equilibrium in the temple of body politic, which is achieved by flowing alchemically, first to one side, then the other.
The New Testament story of the Marriage at Cana, in which Jesus turned water into wine, is all about this kind of Temperance. It is about the fertility of the Marriage of the Sun and the Moon that produces the Child of the Philosopher or the Philosopher’s Stone. But for this happy outcome, one needs patience and to be prepared for the Wheel of Time (temps in Latin) to eventually turn and for the Law of Unintended Consequences to do its thing.
Temperance is also associated with Sagittarius, which is symbolised by an arrow leaving a bow. Sagittarius is the astrological fire sign that represents the directed will with which you fire your arrow along the trajectory you want to follow. Do be aware though that will is different to intention. Will is much more rooted in the subconscious mind which is ruled by the star destiny of the individual. It is why Arthur could so easily remove the sword of Excalibur from the stone when no other knight could. It was his destiny.
In Frieda Harris’s tarot card of Temperance, which she calls Art after the Great Art of alchemy, we see the double arches of the bow of the Archer.
The rainbow, shown doubled on the alchemist’s cape, represents the array of different hues that arise at the stage of putrefaction, which are symbolised in the Old Testament as Joseph’s coat of many colours. In esoterism, the rainbow is also the Arc of the Covenant that shoots the arrow of the promise of fertility, and that may be why the rainbow has been stolen and repurposed by the Death Cultists to be the rallying flag of those whose sexual practices lead to the opposite of fertility for the human race.
Strength
The goddess of Fortitude or Strength is traditionally shown variously wearing armour, with a club, holding open the jaws of a lion, or with a palm, a tower, a yoke or a broken column.
From the tomb of the 9th century Pope Gregory II, Bamberg Cathedral, Germany
The esoteric secret society of the Golden Dawn renamed Strength to Lust. It is not about sexual lust but more a lust for action born out of joy, delight, elation and good natured humour.
There is feeling of active joy that comes when the flames of inspiration are fuelling our creativity. This give us the ability to fire back at our detractors playfully and effectively – but by effectively, I don’t mean mere point-scoring. Our response has to heal the situation if it is to have value, perhaps by making a warm-hearted joke that lights up the reality of the nonsense being purveyed. Laughter is an extremely powerful catalyst for change. Some people who are good at this are Ricky Gervais and Laurence Fox. It’s worth following them on Twitter just to watch them in action.
I’ve noticed that those experiencing informational derangement are not particularly inspired or creative, but have to rely on repeating the slogans that others have taught them, or on very simple ideas that do not stand up to any scrutiny. So a truly inspired response, at times like these, can swiftly pierce the vain-glorious armour of the most persistent of trolls while enlightening the path forward out of the maze for those who are following.
Strength is associated with the astrological sign of Leo, which is governed by the Sun and symbolised by a lion, and it is all about heartfelt direction.
In Frieda Harris’s card of Lust in the Thoth Tarot below, we see the goddess in ecstasy, astride a lion-headed serpent otherwise known as a quinotaur. She is reining-in the burning passion of her mission with her left hand, while with the other, she is holding aloft the Holy Grail which is aflame with love, generosity of heart and inspiration.
Speaking as a Leo myself, I find that being inspired and aflame with strength, fortitude and good humoured playfulness is the only way to vanquish the serried ranks of trolls in an information war, and to bring our own troops home to a virtuous victory.
Of course, we cannot begin to imagine what St Thomas Aquinas would have made of Twitter, but I thank him for these guidelines anyway!
Shaman of Avalon 