Theos-Talk Archives (December 1996 Message tl00574)

Capricorn is the tenth sign, and the tenth labor of Hercules was slaying
Cerberus, the guardian of Hades.

This tenth labor of Hercules was actually to free Prometheus, the Immortal
who was punished for giving the secret of Fire to mankind by being chained
to a rock in Hades and eternally tormented by a vulture which tore at him.
Hercules descended into Hades and found the way blocked by Cerberus, a
monster with the body of a giant dog with three heads, each surrounded by
snakes.  When the monster sprang at him, Hercules grabbed it by the middle
neck and overcame it by his strength.  He then broke the chains binding
Prometheus, freeing him from his suffering.

****

The symbol of Capricorn is the goat, climbing the mountain until no further
ascent is possible.  In some writings, the symbol is also given as the
crocodile or unicorn, and HPB wrote about the "Mystery of the Makara" in
Capricorn.  This is a most difficult sign to understand, but it must be
significant that this begins the lesser cycle of tests wherein Hercules
works not for himself but for the salvation of others.  For the first nine
signs, Hercules' labors brought gain to himself, the disciple.  Beginning in
Capricorn, the labors of the initiate Hercules are entirely for the benefit
of others.

In Scorpio, the nine-headed hydra symbolized the passions, glamours and
illusions that the disciple must overcome, and Hercules triumphed by raising
the monster into the light.  With Cerberus, the serpents of illusion
surround the heads of sensation, desire and good intentions undone.  Desire
is the central problem, and Hercules can now conquer desire by his own
strength, gained at such cost in the successful completion of the previous
labors.  "Desire is the cause of all suffering," taught the Buddha.  While
we may not have (yet) the strength of will to completely overcome desire, we
do know that others *have* succeeded and left maps that we may follow in
Their footsteps, to the top of the mountain in Capricorn.
___________________

The full moon in Capricorn occurs December 24 at 3:42 pm Eastern Standard
Time (USA), 8:42 pm GMT.  A group meditation will be held on the subject of
Letting in the Light on Monday evening at 7:00 pm EST, and again at the time
of the full moon.  At the time of each full moon Festival, energy qualified
by the constellation influencing that period flows into the range of human
awareness, thereby establishing the divine attributes in the consciousness
of humanity.  This spiritual inflow can be channeled in meditation into the
minds and hearts of all people, and everyone is invited to participate in
the group effort.