When the Measure reaches 9

Updating by Triads

Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet

Director, Aeon Centre of Cosmology

May/June 2013

Traditional Indian astrology does not incorporate the three outer planets when analysing horoscopes and events. On the individual level this system, limited to six planets (the Moon taken among them) and the Sun, may be sufficient. However, if we wish to read the destiny of a civilisation, especially in view of the unimaginable strides taken over the past three centuries, we need to turn to the planets that were discovered during that period to answer why things have been arranged as they are, and, more importantly, where this is all taking us. It cannot be denied that civilisation is under great pressure to evolve a now global culture based on an outlook that can observe events in a connected fashion to overcome the fragmentation we now experience. In what way might the outer triad impact the process of expansion of consciousness, collectively and individually?

The outer three planets describe the pressures we are experiencing and their necessity. Clearly a new order is in the making; but the most difficult moment is the one we are passing through right now – the transition stage. We look over our shoulders at what is collapsing behind us, but there is as yet no clear vision of what lies ahead, and how to get there. The outer planets are opened to our perception precisely in order to serve as signposts or torches lighting the path ahead.

In a perception based on Oneness, our contemporary travails would make little sense without the extension or expansion of our solar system to the eye of humankind. It is important to note that until the last planet, Pluto, came into view the Hindu astrologer was correct in refusing to entertain the notion of restructuring a system that was until then serving him well. As I wrote in Beyond Contemporary Scientific Paradigms, the process of creation – or what must be described as a manifestation from ‘the other side’ and into the materiality of this universe of 9 – is precisely a triadic enfolding. The compaction then begins to expand or evolve on this side in quanta of 3s. Until the full triad is known – i.e. discovered, sighted, ‘seen’ – it is of little use and can be set aside in attendance on a further development to complete the triadic pattern.

We see this triadic process expressed not only in Number but also in the manner in which we record time – as in the current universal calendar. I present below a chart with the time of discovery and the respective positions in the tropical zodiac of the triad in question. A pattern emerges that in itself becomes proof of what I sustain regarding not only the triadic necessity, but how the entire process can be understood/revealed only with the addition of the last item of the equation. When that takes place we know that the time has come for integration to be possible. We also know that the wholeness of the trinity demands a certain expansion of consciousness if we are to benefit from the new energies that are released into our system; hence the need for a certain pressure to discard what cannot be accommodated in the new Order to make room for the often unexpected twists and turns that are sure to be experienced during the transition phase.

From: Symbols and the Question of Unity (1974)
and The Gnostic Circle 1975)

The Supramental Organisation

Uranus was the first of the outer triad to be discovered. This occurred in 1781 (see chart above). The events of that century are consonant with the meaning astrologers attribute to Uranus. Foremost would be the onset of the Industrial Revolution for which technology of a uranian nature would be required. Along with this the foundations were more firmly cemented for the dominance of science as we know it today. This was perhaps the most salient feature of the Uranian century because it has become the backdrop of everything our civilisation has had to offer since then. Further, the social and political revolutions of that period were also Uranian in nature. They were precursors of the next astrological Age, the Aquarian ruled by Uranus, during which Age the triadic formula would be completed and Aquarian/Uranian ideals would begin to spread across the globe. The French and American Revolutions in the 1700s are cases in point. The ideals underlying both inspired the freedom struggles and democratic systems that came forward at the completion of the triad and the onset of the Aquarian Age (1926), along with the call for unity - witness the unification of Italy, for one. Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury, a fact the chart I am presenting also confirms, as I will explain further ahead. The significance is that whatever Mercury represents in the old order is taken a notch higher so that the field is made better suited to accommodate finer energies, or higher ‘vibrations’, if you will.

Neptune was discovered in the following century in 1846. A number of developments during that period also conform to the entry of Neptune to enhance the capacity of the field, such as new trends in art and music that departed radically from artistic traditions up to that point. Impressionism, for example, which conveys something of the elusive, dreamlike and often illusory quality of the 8^th planet. More pointedly, the primary art form of the new Age would fall directly under the rule of Neptune with the discovery of photography and soon after the use of film in cinema. Art and artistic pursuits are connected to Venus, of which Neptune is the higher octave. It is therefore understandable that new artistic expressions would arise when Neptune found its place in the System.

As perhaps a reaction to the rising dogma of materialism of the 1700s, the next addition to the triad introduced a balance to the lifelessness the new science was inculcating. In this regard, we note another area of interest that falls directly under Neptune’s rule, spiritism. There was widespread indulgence in séances to contact the spirit world and the deceased, so thoroughly a Neptunian occupation. The craze gradually decreased as time moved on, but the gains of that period, if they may be so called, have remained. For many the introduction to a reality beyond the physical resulted from those early explorations into the paranormal under Neptune’s rule.

These are just some effects which explain cosmologically the advances made by the discovery of Uranus and Neptune – or more accurately, advances that were signalled by their unveiling in the System. The sightings simply served to focus the lens of perception regarding humanity’s purpose and direction in evolution. What becomes evident is that their discovery marked periods of heightened activity in the field each planet is said to ‘govern’. Did the discovery cause the changes or did they emerge synchronistically, the discoveries themselves forming a pattern that would be self-explanatory?

These changes, this expansion cannot be explained astrologically when the measure of the solar system remains pegged at 6 + 1. But neither can this knowledge be incorporated to the extent required with only two outer planets as the chart itself reveals, where the full sense only becomes clear as a triad. In their wisdom wisemen and women of India knew the trinity to be the harmonic chord affecting both the macro and microcosms. As above, so below was an aphorism all ancient civilisations accepted, especially those proficient in astrology – or an astronomy infused with sense and purpose and not the theoretical lifelessness of its contemporary offshoot. It is therefore understandable that even when a degeneration set in, as we find in contemporary Indian society regarding the ancient ways, there remains this basic grounding in triadic formulas. The concrete proof is that the descent of the Supramental Avatar of Vishnu, the 9^th, adhered impeccably to the triadic foundation – nay, the descent of the 9^th and his line put the seal and sanction of the Supreme on the essential character of material creation as being triadic.

However, that foundation, that imprinted pattern, did not originate on this side of the boundary that separates subtle from physical. (See: Beyond Contemporary Scientific Paradigms.) It arose on ‘the other side’. Only in this way could the formula find its place and be perceived in our material universe. The expansion of the solar system by three indicates the emergence of new enhanced tools of perception in order to bridge the chasm dividing spirit and matter. The indication is that prior to the appearance of the outer triad, what was reserved for an elite can now be offered in a self-evident formula as the foundation for a new planetary society; in this way the dominance of a purposeless materialism can be superseded. The number 9 is the key that opens the door to these arcane mysteries. This has been the ancient secret knowledge that India still preserves but must now ‘globalise’.

India has known of the place of 9 from the dawn of its civilisation; it remains to this day a national obsession. Though diluted and discredited by rationalists, Indian astrology, mythology, sacred architecture and geometry continue to honour its role even in face of the ridicule cast on the ancient arts by those who for the most part are neither initiated practitioners nor believers in ‘the other side’; and yet these are the men who pass judgement on what they have never experienced yet vehemently deny. Unfortunately, the ridicule would easily be dealt a fatal blow if astrologers and temple pundits could adequately explain why the navagraha yantra (commonly translated as nine planets, though ‘planets’ is not the best translation) is found at the entrance of every temple, for example. The laity is told that this is because first and foremost the planet relevant to the object and objective of the worship must be invoked and in some cases its ‘evil’ effects neutralised. Sani/Saturn is a prime candidate given his inauspicious nature: any misfortune that befalls an individual, is laid at Sani’s door. (Ironically, Saturn is India’s ruling planet.) Whatever the current thinking is, the intent was to preserve the measure of 9 and its triadic structure (3²). This knowledge may be withheld from the worshipper, but it should form a basis for everything the astrologer or pundit does. This is no longer the case; hence, the practice can be easily labelled mere superstition. The direct result is the flawed calendrical system that has come into vogue. Notwithstanding this misstep, once the evidence is made available that deviation can be rectified. India has been chosen to preserve the ancient way in attendance of the day when the veils could be drawn aside. The outer triad of planets indicates that the time has arrived.

These essays have for their purpose the eradication of superstition by the only means possible: unveiling the Vedic foundation – the keys of knowledge that gave rise millennia ago to certain practices which are now shadows of their original content without that foundational knowledge. But a ‘shadow’ presupposes a solid object – and that is the purpose of these exercises in updating: a return to substantials.

Navagraha: its true value

The Navagraha configuration of 9, with each ‘planet’ personified as a particular God of the Hindu pantheon, is meant to inculcate the Divine Measure of 9, no matter what form is given to each number. There has been an embellishment or elaboration over the centuries in this regard, similar to the progression of the Vedic Altar to what we now know as the Hindu Temple; the reason was not to dilute its core sense and purpose but to preserve that Measure in times of great trials when threatened with extinction. This method was effective, but when the time comes to lift the veils we must not hesitate otherwise that same civilisation, founded on the highest veda, can degenerate into mere worship of external Forms devoid of soul, as Sri Aurobindo wrote in the last century. It is the triadic measure of 9 (as in 3+3+3) that is the issue over and above all else. The original seed, we must acknowledge, was so robust and vibrant that unlike all other ancient civilisations it is only in India where we find the Knowledge preserved in such an explicit and complete manner.

When the world passed into a dark age, for all practical purposes that sacred measure was lost: it went underground. Or, as the myth informs us, it was ‘covered in veils’ like Shiva’s divine Son in his form of Guha. Those veils are then lifted when as a child he saves the Earth – the mythic contemporary history records. India, in spite of all the attacks on her dominant belief system, remained faithful to her dharma throughout; but to do so she would need to include items in the navagraha which today are held as proof by rationalists of backwardness and a telling ignorance of the actual mechanics of the solar system, given the inclusion of Rahu and Ketu which are not planets but simply points where orbits cross. Actually the only problem is the fact that, ‘the soul of knowledge’ has ‘fled from its coverings’. What remains is a vast body of ritual which, while preserving the Knowledge, cannot explain WHY.

Interestingly, we discover once again that a very important aspect of the Tradition has been preserved from ancient times: The navagrahas prescribe all the correct elements, planets or otherwise, which an astrologer requires to read the celestial harmonies, in an individual’s chart or to understand the mysterious ways of the Divine in this material creation as projected into our solar system. Given the expansion of our times the yantra is modified accordingly, but not to the rationalist’s satisfaction, to be sure. Rahu and Ketu, the lunar nodes, are certainly not eliminated but are simply inserted into their rightful place. In my view, with the formulation of the new supramental cosmology they have finally come into their own: the lunar nodes, north and south, head and tail, form the axis of destiny of an individual as perceived in the natal horoscope; while the solar system as a whole also has an axis that serves the same purpose. This axial measurement and alignment is defined by the Capricorn and Cancer solstices of the tropical ecliptic zodiac. For this reason we can say that nothing is excluded in the new cosmology but each thing is simply ‘put in its rightful place’ by a more penetrating focus of the lens of perception – failing which it cannot manifest its true purpose and potential. This adds to the argument that only in this 9^th Manifestation do we experience the highest potential by virtue of completion which allows for each created thing to find its true place within the whole. The result of this wholeness is that seepages of energy are eliminated.

The Navagrahas and their Vahanas   

The perennial Earth Axis mechanism

The descent of the Vishnu Avatars at certain critical periods in evolution serves the purpose of firming up the Axis: the Churning of the Primordial Ocean under the auspices of Vishnu is the myth that describes the process most accurately. To this end, when he appears, the 9^th Supramental Avatar of Vishnu must not only reveal the Formula, he must explain by his very appearance what the original intent was and how it is as valid today as ever it was, once updating is done. This essay is one more effort along those same lines. I have filled volumes with proof of just how this has been accomplished. My primary objective has always been to offer evidence of what might otherwise be brushed aside as speculation or theory, or even just hagiography – words that do not find a place in the new cosmology.  I do not intend to repeat what has already been exhaustively explained and published elsewhere. The diligent seeker can read the evidence to determine whether or not my statements are supported by facts. It needs to be stated, however, that when dealing with ‘spirituality’ the demand for evidence is strangely set aside, the argument being that the direct (read, subjective) experience alone stands as verification, which of course not only places the experience outside the reference field of the scientist but also of 99% of the lay population. However, the New Way and its body of supramental knowledge revises that notion: the ways of the Supreme Mother in her material creation are as easily supported by hard facts as any demands contemporary science may make; the only proviso is that the approach must be on Her terms – i.e., with a grounding in the harmonies of the cosmos that are real and not merely theoretical, speculative or subjective. This has been proven by the publications of Aeon Centre of Cosmology for the past four decades, with evidence drawn almost entirely from the facts provided by the 9^th Avatar’s birth in Earth time, in conjunction with the birth details of the others of his line, which, similar to the pattern under discussion, can only be revealed when the full line is completed in Earth time. This completion was brought about by the Avatar himself – it is what constitutes the supreme Victory.

The analysis of the discovery of the outer triad of planets is a case in point. But first I need to clarify that astrology is caught in an epistemological conundrum. The practitioner always refers to the ‘influence’ of the planets – and scientists cry till they are hoarse that no such ‘influence’ has ever been detected and measured. What they fail to appreciate, and astrologers do not seem interested in explaining, is that influence is brought to bear by these patterns I am discussing. The effect is one of resonance or, in Vedic terms, equivalency and correspondence (‘as above, so below’). In other words, they are not waves or other physically measurable phenomena. To simplify a complex subject we do call it influence because there is indeed an action that arises due to these configurations; but the true explanation is the question of Measure: our solar system measures 9 orbits, with a planet in each to furnish a particular note required for the famed Music of the Spheres to be embedded at the very core of our beings. We may externalise, call it a God, a Divine Architect or Intelligence, or whatever. That is our choice. But always it is Measure. This becomes divine when completion takes place, as we are privileged to witness today. Because the system is now complete, this offers a means to wed matter to the more subtle dimensions of the spirit.

For Indian astrologers and cosmologists the chart I am presenting is the best proof not only of the validity of the triadic complementary character of the cosmic harmony but also of the fact that verification can only be obtained by use of: 1) the universal calendar employed throughout the world and also officially adopted by India at independence, 2) the tropical zodiac of the ecliptic as the ‘one circle’ extolled in the Rig and Atharva Vedas, the only method of time reckoning that permits this verification.

In light of the above, this chart could never have been discovered utilising the current Nirayana method of computation – on the basis of which any confirmation of completion (‘victory’) that the Divine Measure of 9 signifies for the Earth, would be ignored. Such is the dilemma Indian astrology and cosmology face today. Naturally the outer triad is ignored by pundits because, based on the flawed Nirayana system of time reckoning they use, that further triad effectively does not exist. The implications in the present circumstances are serious. It may be further stated that backwardness (as in ignoring the real dimensions of the solar system) does not lie in an increase in superstitious practices but in the fact that astrologers in India refuse to see what stands physically before their eyes. (Such an attitude calls to mind the refusal of Catholic prelates in Galileo’s time even to look through his newly-fashioned telescope and prove for themselves the truth or otherwise of his postulations, because they considered it to be ‘work of the devil’. We need not labour the point except to state that this sort of closeted mentality is entirely foreign to India’s philosophic and yogic traditions, and is an ‘import’ that the nation can well do without.)

Higher octaves and orbits

The centuries when the outer planets were discovered are compressed into decades, by the mechanics of Vedic correspondence, when their time of fulfilment arrives. These would be the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s of the last century. It is not surprising therefore that I discovered this pattern precisely in the Uranus ‘condensed’ period – the 1970s. That entire decade was spent in the Uranian pursuit of establishing a new language of cosmic harmonies in keeping with the expansion of consciousness the Earth is experiencing. I laid the foundations during that decade for the updating that is now possible; and astrologers understand that cosmic harmonies do indeed fall under the rule of Uranus – but Uranus as the higher octave of Mercury, it needs to be borne in mind. In addition, we are in a position to appreciate that an acceleration is in progress given this possibility of compression of time – centuries to decades.

In this light whatever the world is living through today can be traced to those three centuries and the three decades closing the last millennium because they drew global society irrevocably out of the old measure and carried the world into the dimension of higher octaves. The option to retreat, to turn back the cosmic clock does not exist. 1971, the first 9 power year of the condensation, opened the floodgates not only to the full formulation of the new supramental cosmology but also to the onset of actual happenings across the globe that served to dismantle the old foundations and allow the new and higher perceptive capacities to manifest. Truly it is ‘the birth of a new world’, as Sri Aurobindo’s co-worker, the Mother, explained in 1962 – not a transformation of the old but ‘an entirely new world’.

To properly understand the exquisite pattern presented in the chart, it must be accompanied by the division of the 360-degree circle by 9 which then records the orbit numbers of each planet in the system: Mercury=1, Venus=2, and so forth, as indicated in the diagram below. Only then can the profoundest implications of the pattern be properly grasped. To illustrate, I mentioned earlier the question of orbits as the truly important elements of the cosmic harmony; planets are markers of orbits, pace-setters. By the mathematics of unity the total count of the years of their discoveries (column two) confirms this importance. The resultant 4, 1, and 8 are then found to be repeated when 9/8/7 (centuries) are added to the lower octave orbit numbers (4,2,1) as indicated in column three. There would seem to be no logic in such number combinations, just fanciful jugglery of little or no consequence, but it should be borne in mind that much of contemporary science does not even offer this or any type of novel logic for many of its assumptions. They remain just that: assumptions. In reality, what occurs when the matter is studied in depth is that time is wedded to space in a unique manner through the mathematics of unity that reduces numbers to their whole tones.

The diligent student will note that the mathematics of unity is the tool by which we establish the factuality of the new cosmology, regardless of the fact that we have no prior model to which we can compare the exercise, except perhaps the use of the number 9 in Vedic Mathematics and its method of reduction to ‘seed digits’. In this demonstration, the focus is always the integration of a triad beyond the original 6 – that is, the 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th planets/orbits. This 7, 8, 9 sequence has been imprinted by the century of the sightings. That, in conjunction with the orbit number of the new planet’s corresponding lower octave planet – i.e, Mercury=1, Venus=2, Mars=4 – establishes the connection between the two and that the new discovery, through the time of its sighting, links it firmly to the former planet; that is, its lower octave to its higher. In this regard it may be noted that even in the West there is some confusion on these issues; this discovery helps to clear the air and honour the true harmony in its supramental character, which presents itself in such a way as to silence speculation.

The triad of outer planets as the higher octave of those inner planets, Mercury, Venus and Mars, can no longer be dismissed as some astrologers in the West do, or their relevance ignored as traditional Hindu astrology does, because Number links them in this unmistakable manner. As well, this demonstrates another signature of the Supermind by including in the pattern events of the future which, once having occurred, the soundness and consistency and wholeness of the discovery will silence needless speculation. Thus, a confirmation grounded in truth-seeing could only come when the final ingredient had been added with the discovery of Pluto; but it was always present within the wholeness of Time’s womb.

Conclusion: Return to the ‘One Circle’

Now to the last item in the list, the individual degrees of the triad in the ecliptic zodiac (the last column in brackets) at the time of their discovery, under the application of the mathematics of unity. Again 7, 8, 9 surface in proper sequence. However, to be noted is that this is measured in the tropical zodiac of the ecliptic, not in the far-off sidereal circle used by astrologers but in that ‘one circle’ extolled in the Rig Veda. Nowhere do the constellations fit into this carefully crafted Divine Measure. Everything contained in the pattern is derived from measurements the Earth provides by her various movements in orbit of the Sun within the ecliptic plane. Sadly, this magnificent display of Supermind organised for Earth application is closed to Nirayana post-Vedic astrologers.

For readers of these essays the present exercise is the best example of a consciousness of unity about which we can only speculate, never having had a concrete example of its operations. This is one such example where a consciousness that perceives holistically is required to see and, more importantly, to grasp the implications of this simple triadic pattern. As well, there is the ability to navigate across centuries and years as if, indeed, all is simultaneously contained within that ‘one circle’ of the ecliptic – on the order of the famed trikaladrishti of the ancient Seers; in the New Way terminology it is called simultaneous time. There is no speculation required in this exercise; but what is demanded is the ability to recognise its newness and phenomenal implications. As well, there has to be an acceptance of the correct tools of knowledge to comprehend this and other utterly astonishing displays of patterns that allow us to follow the steps of the Time-Spirit into the new Supramental Age.