Heaven and Hell
This is the 108th post. 108 is a very special number with diverse explanations for its significance. There are 108 beads on the malas used by the faithful in both Hinduism and Buddhism. The number has vast significance, but that can wait for another day. Risky as it is, I want to draw parallels between a tragedy few of us studied in history and the recent events on Maui. I don’t really know where to start so bear with me a bit.
I have promised to write about the history of reincarnation in Western religions. Some of us are aware that the Greeks had a philosophy of transmigration of souls which is similar, but not identical, to the twin doctrines of karma and reincarnation. These precepts were removed from official Catholic theology at the Fifth Ecumenical Council in 553. The Council was assembled by the decree of Emperor Justinian, against the wishes of Pope Vigilius. However, there was a humble group of Cathars who held fast to the traditional beliefs. Their origins are a bit obscure, but in the early 13th century, they lived mostly in south of France, Languedoc being one of the most famous enclaves.
Pope Innocent III launched a Crusade against the Cathars whose name comes from the Greek word katharos, meaning pure. Men, women, and children were slaughtered or burned alive. It was, at the time, the worst case of religious genocide in “Christian” history.
I remember parts of my life as a Cathar. Recall came gradually and spanned several decades. Though my French teacher in high school was Parisian, I always spoke French with a distinct accent that was easily identified as that of the south. In the 70s, I found a book on the history of reincarnation in Christianity, but it vanished. I suspected my mother aided its disappearance, but she claimed innocence.
Little by little, I started to remember past lives. One was as the daughter of Empress Theodora, wife of Justinian. I was mostly out of public view, but vehemently opposed the intrusion of politics into religion. This drama has, of course, played out in many incarnations. Ultimately, I saw myself on a hill overlooking Languedoc. I was eight months pregnant and could not bear the idea of destroying my unborn child so I escaped via Switzerland. That was a more than 800 years ago, but there is no time on the soul level so whether these events took place centuries ago or last week, it is the same.
The parallel I see to the situation in Maui is indeed painful because people were trapped, blocked from escaping, and many, including children, died. We do not have all the facts yet, but the clash between official actions and safety is, tragically, transparent.
Sadly, similar events are happening elsewhere, not just Maui. I have had private discussions with friends and colleagues. There are a few details I feel can be shared. Sometimes, I sit on understandings for a long time before discussing the details, but many people who have studied some astrology know the name Isabel Hickey. She visited the Big Island of Hawaii in the late 70s. I met her at the airport and played tourist guide, introduced her to my friends and to my mother. In short, we spent a lot of time together over the course of her stay. She is the one who taught me a technique for remembering past lives; and, over the years, I have added my own tweaks to this method. One day, she remarked, “the AMA is the reincarnation of the Inquisition.” I was quite shocked when she said that because I was still at that stage in my own pursuits where I believed science was at the core of what passes for modern medicine. Admittedly, I was not, at the time, on the first rung of the ladder. I had scaled far enough to hesitate when recommendations were made, but I had yet to see the dark side.
One can only control if there is compliance. Many factors can influence whether or not people will march to the drum beats: fear, mistrust, dissidence, vehement opposition, and a feeling perhaps that a point comes when there is nothing more to lose.
Substack readers probably know that censorship and disinformation are pervasive, but we do not know all the particulars about what is hidden from sight . . . nor do we necessarily know why truth is hidden.
Returning then to karma and reincarnation, I recently stumbled on a claim by a rabbi that Judaism also had a belief in reincarnation, but it was removed from the public view, and its study became an esoteric pursuit. In a kind of a way, I knew this because a couple of slip ups occurred in the editing of the Bible, but I did not understand the details behind hiding the doctrine.
It is thus fair to ask why this is so important that I have spent several incarnations fussing over karma and reincarnation. The two most important responses would be that we can appreciate our inherent immortality through acceptance of this reincarnation; but more importantly, the doctrine of karma is closely connected to ethics or what the Hawaiians call “pono”. We are encouraged to do what is right if we know there will be consequences for failing to do so.
For the record, I do not understand the law of karma in terms of “an eye for an eye” but rather as an educational tool that forces alignment with divine will.
This brings me to the other subject I have been discussing privately. In our lifetime, Pluto has appeared to be transiting inside the orbit of Neptune so they have had a rather consistent separation of roughly 60 degrees, a sextile aspect in the language of astrologers, throughout many decades.
There have been many times since our birth that another planet or planets made a 150 degree aspect, quincunx, to Neptune and Pluto. This is a little complicated for non-astrologers, but the natural angle of a quincunx is to the sixth house cusp, work and health, or the eighth house cusp, jointly held resources and death. I know that this concept will fly right by some readers, but try to bear with me a bit.
Pluto is the Lord of Hades, and Neptune is not just the God of the Sea, but the mystic, the one who reveals the wisdom of our souls and who inspires us to live up to our highest ideals. When a planet moves into quincunx with Neptune and Pluto, the two planets in sextile, a choice must be made between heaven and hell. This is what it boils down to even if there are many nuances.
Going back to July, Venus and Mars were making two quincunxes, called a “Y” or yod or “finger of God” formation, with Neptune and Pluto. Then, as the Sun was going into Leo (sidereal astrology), Venus retrograded and stayed in that pivotal position for a longer than usual time. Though Venus is generally regarded as a benefic planet, it can be covetous and greedy. We saw what appears to be a land grab attempt and a pathetic offer of $700 per household to tide people over their incredible losses. This is not, however, the end of the story because Venus will turn direct and return to the quincunx position in October . . . at which time Neptune and Pluto will both be retrograde so there are more chapters to this saga.
I apologize for the astrolese. All the motions of planets are cyclical. One definition of astrology is that it is the science of manifestation in time. The beauty of a yod is that when mistakes are made, there is a chance to correcting the course. We can choose heaven over hell . . . even if addicted to the abuse of power. Obviously, the world will quickly become a better and safer place when we chose the path of alignment with Divine Harmony.
Relief workers in Hawaii have asked for herbs to help those who have been impacted by the disaster. If you would like to donate to this effort, you can contribute whatever is most comfortable to you. 100% of what is donated will be shipped to Maui at my expense. I have also asked the lab to give the maximum discount possible so that more people can benefit.
Copyright by Dr. Ingrid Naiman 2023 || All Rights Reserved
For permission to quote, please contact the author. Sharing via e-mail and posting links are welcome so long as the author and source are properly cited.
Image Credits:
Mala: Onlyfabrizio | Dreamstime.com
Cathar Fortress in Languedoc, Occitania, France: Freeprod | Dreamstime.com
Orbits of Neptune and Plutos: astronomy.stackexchange.com
For Further Studies:
List of 75 books removed from the Bible: https://totallythedream.com/books-removed-from-the-bible/
Ingrid
I have two more for you that involve the number 108 first the Catholic rosary has 108 beads but the best one of all is a professional baseball. It has 108 stitches, which is why I go to the church of baseball.