Studies in Astrology
by Elman Bacher

Volume III

Chapter III
White Light Astrology

The essence of spiritual service of any kind is performed by the person who transmutes the negative areas of his own subconscious, strengthens and disciplines his mental faculties, keeps his heart consciousness alive with love power, and seeks always to be perceptive of the best in others. The perception of the actual or potential good in others is an ignition which sooner or later makes possible the expression of that good. The essence of evolutionary progress is the ever-unfolding awareness of Good; we as individuals make a contribution to the progress of the race as a whole when, by regenerate consciousness, we are able to alert others to a recognition of their higher potentials for the fulfillment of talents and abilities, health, love, and success in any field of endeavor.

The term "white light" is a symbolized expression of this consciousness. White is the composite of all color refractions; in its purest form it stands as a symbol of the vibration of consciousness which is centered in God. The refractions of white light may be referred to, or thought of, as soul qualities, corresponding spiritually to the variations found in the color spectrums. Each of these colors manifests the principle of diversity as an expression of unity, in that each quality has its vibratory ranges from the most primitive, unregenerate aspects to its most regenerate and highly spiritualized aspects. The utmost degree of pure, luminous white composites the best of all visual vibratory expressions as a symbol of consciousness perfected.

The astrologer, in his study of horoscopes of human beings, is actually studying, analyzing, synthesizing, and interpreting vibratory patterns of soul qualities representing all possible ranges of development and their reflection, in the world of forms, as experience patterns. The artistic consciousness of the painter, for example, is reflected by what is found on his canvases; that of the musician is manifested by that which comes out of his instrument.

The astrologer, also an interpretative artist, expresses his consciousness by the way he interprets the horoscopes of others; the horoscopes are his instruments--corresponding to the brush, colors, and canvas of the painter, and to the violin of the musician. The astrologer's consciousness of good corresponds to the composite of the artistic perceptions of the esthetic interpreter. Inspiration is the ignition of all consciousnesses that are aligned to truth and beauty; for the astrologer, this ignition is made possible when he charges his consciousness with the desire to interpret a horoscope according to the best of all its potentials. This means that he makes his ultimate interpretative goal that of alerting the client to a recognition of the best and finest of the latter's soul colors and soul tones.

The impersonality of the astrologer's service makes it imperative that, when he is at his work, he lift his consciousness from down- pulling patterns of personal feeling and emotion. We suggest, as a preparatory technique for developing this faculty, meditation on the following mandala: a circle, blank except for a round dot, or spot, in the exact center. This mandala is the most perfectly impersonal representation of a horoscope that it is possible to make. It conveys no experience pattern, emotion pattern, nor friction, sorrow, or difficulty. The dot in the center can stand as the purpose of the astrologer's task. It is one-pointed, condensed, and undifferentiated. That purpose is to be a source of spiritual enlightenment to the client and when meditation on that purpose is, itself, focused and concentrated, personal down-pullings vanish from the consciousness of the astrologer. In this way the astrologer "white lights" himself; his next step is to "white light" the client. He does so by adding to the above mandala the vertical and horizontal diameters; the result is the most abstract and impersonal portrait of a human being that can be made. This mandala is a composite picture of the spiritual consciousness--the central dot; the state of physical incarnation is the cross formed by the straight lines; and the enveloping of the perfect circle is divine power, divine love, and divine wisdom The mandala pictures a human being who is conscious of his spiritual origin and of the spirituality of incarnation. From meditation on this portrait, the white light awareness of the astrologer toward the client is unfolded.

The next step in developing white light awareness is for the astrologer to add the other diameters to the above mandala, thus completing the twelve-fold horoscopical wheel. The mandala now presents the picture of the client as subject to the same general patterns of experience and relationship that are common to all other human beings. These twelve "houses" are the "rooms" of the house in which the entity, Humanity, lives during incarnation. Each is as necessary as all the others, each has its particularized significance in experience, and each is a work-shop for the creation of greater good on all planes of human expression and realization.

The mandala, as it now stands, is the essential pattern of all horoscopes. Meditation on it, as a picturing of human life, can be made by all astrologers so that the realization of evolutionary purpose in human life may become deeper and clearer each day. Every horoscope perceived as a "variation-expression" of this mandala stands a much better chance of being sensitively and intuitively interpreted; without this preparation of "White Lighting" the basic pattern, the astrologer risks mental entanglement among all the complex factors of a natal horoscope. Further--and this is important--since horoscopes represent people, the astrologer develops the response of "white lighting" people automatically when he contacts them in his daily living. This is a natural development from his daily white light meditation on the astrological mandala because he throws out to people an awareness which is being more and more focused on perfections.

From the abstract design we now begin to apply the white light technique to personal variations; we leave the universal pattern to consider particular patterns.

The old admonition, "Charity begins at home," can be restated here in this form: The development of white light technique begins with the astrologer's meditation on his own chart. He, a human being, has the same essential pattern as has any other human being. But his particulars differ to a degree from those of anyone else.

His being an astrologer does not automatically exempt him from patterns of personal feelings in the form of prejudice, resentment, false pride, envy, etc. However, his being an astrologer imposes on him the responsibility of transcending these negatives as soon, and as completely, as possible. His negatives can congeal and crystallize just as anyone else's can; so he, the astrologer, must turn his impersonal consciousness on himself, the human being. This is a truth: to the degree that an astrologer remains fixated in negative reaction patterns he limits his interpretative abilities. In that state he transposes his own negatives into similar patterns which he may find in another's chart. For example: a male astrologer has become fixated on a pattern of aversion to a specific feminine expression of human life. He has, toward that expression, a deep subconscious feeling of dislike or animosity--the result of his reaction to a problem- experience some time in his past. He has never released that frictional feeling from his subconscious. How, we ask, can he adequately interpret and psychologically or spiritually solve a similar condition which he finds in the chart of another male? There are astrologers who, motivated by deep urges toward self-defense and self-justification, fail to interpret correctly certain patterns in their charts which others can see at a glance. A little white light is urgently needed at that point.

We astrologers, as a general thing, find no difficulty in "white lighting" the twelve houses of the chart. The houses stand as picturings of basic experience patterns and, as such, convey a more directly impersonal meaning. But some of us seem to have it in for certain planets and/or planetary aspects. Why? Because the planets are the focalizations of consciousness and some of the patterns they make in relationship to each other picture the friction and testing of consciousness patterns. We tend to regard as bad, evil, or unfortunate any experience pattern which ignites our unregenerate consciousness levels, thus causing us to experience reactions of pain. Those which ignite our regenerate levels of consciousness we interpret as benefic, fortunate, and happy. The symbolic composite we call black--evil, painful or bad--is to be worked on though the alchemicalizations of regenerating experience and transmuted into that which we call white. Why not, then, learn to perceive the whiteness inherent in all planetary qualities and relationships? This comprises the interpretative phase of white light astrology.

The whiteness of any planet is the life principle which is symbolized by that planet. The diversity of expression of any planet is just another way of saying: the diversity of expression of human consciousness. According to your development you are aware of these principles; according to your non-development you are unaware of their meaning and significance. The purpose of white-lighting anything is to become more aware of its spiritual meaning.

However clearly you, as an astrologer, may delineate and understand the chart of another person, it is suggested that a plan be adopted by which you may become more perceptive of your own whiteness. This plan involves meditation on several mandalas abstracted from your own chart; one mandala for each of your planets. These mandalas will not involve the use of numbers in any form since number implies limitation, and whiteness is unlimited. Do not permit a single negative, down-pulling keyword to be used in these interpretations. Use only words which convey levels of spiritualized consciousness.

The mandala for your Sun position will be a circle with the twelve houses: the symbol for Leo on your Leo cusp; the symbol of the Sun placed in the house and sign where you have it; the symbol for your Sun sign is placed on its appropriate cusp. This is the concentrated picture of your Sun seen with white light. Synthesize by spiritual keywords every factor of this picture--it is the spiritualized essence of your Sun consciousness, will-power and purpose, the radiation of creative love.

Your Venus mandala: a wheel like the above with the symbols for Taurus and Libra on the cusps appropriate to your chart; the symbol for Venus--the abstract symbol of the fulfilled feminine consciousness, the refinements of the soul, the esthetic awareness, the capacity for cooperation, etc.--to be placed in the house and sign where you have it, the symbol of the sign containing Venus placed on the cusp appropriate to your chart. And so on--one mandala for each of the other planets.

The impression that is conveyed by each of your planetary mandalas is that of a pure color, a light blazing without hindrance. There are no implied complications or limitations to the ability of the planet to radiate at its fullest.

Your white light horoscope is the composite of all your planetary mandalas: a wheel with your signs on the cusps, your planets placed according to the houses and signs in which you have them. Utilizing the most spiritual principles as key words, you now interpret your chart as a picture of the highest and best that you are capable of experiencing and realizing in this incarnation. Your chart, in this form, is an astrological portrait of your ideal self.

The next step is to abstract a white light mandala, in the same way as is described above, for each of your square and/or opposition aspects; we will call these patterns aspect mandalas. Do not place the planetary degrees in the aspect mandala but meditate with spiritual key words on the two planets involved. Since each planet in an aspect mandala blazes with the sane pure essential light that it does in its own mandala, you are now exercising the faculty of synthesis to white-light a two-fold pattern. Follow out the same plan in application to your compound (involving three planets or more) aspects.

After the white light preparation has been made the squares and oppositions in your natal chart will be clearly and truthfully seen to be the process of experience and reactions to experience by which you regenerate your life on all planes. In conclusion, this statement is offered for your spiritual consideration: Regeneration of consciousness is not for the purpose of making trines for the future, it is for the purpose of unfolding God-consciousness through the expression of your planets according to their spiritualized white light principles.