The following excerpt is from the preface of The Magical Carousel Commentaries by Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet, and describes the renewal of the ancient wisdom of the Tropical Zodiac, as it was once known to the Vedic seers of ancient times. The preface begins with a quote from Sri Aurobindo’s The Secret of the Veda:
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… The letter lived on when the spirit was forgotten;
the symbol, the body of the doctrine, remained, but the
soul of knowledge had fled from its coverings.
Sri Aurobindo
The Secret of the Veda
Preface
THE WAY to discover the eternal truths preserved for humanity in the mysterious and enigmatic testaments of antiquity is to find them first in our world of today. The following commentaries were written in order to provide the seeker with an example of this process, that in so doing there can be living evidence of a sound method for deciphering certain extant examples of higher knowledge from past ages, veiled from us because of the shadows the Spirit of Time casts.
My work has led me to discover the fundaments of various ancient systems of knowledge. Once firmly rooted in the present, it was possible to move into the past and learn that the truth of today is that of yesterday, that the Law is eternal and will prevail in its ever-renewable form as long as the solar system lives. The Magical Carousel is therefore a document of a truth renewed, of an ancient wisdom found in the depths of today’s reality. And by uncovering these truths we are also able to unmask errors perpetuated in the name of ancient wisdom, because seekers have sought in the past what they have not first discovered in the present.
After this zodiacal odyssey was completed it was clear that only on the basis of a thorough initiation into the cosmic script can there be any integral understanding of the ancient scriptures – sometimes so hopelessly misunderstood – insofar as all have invariably made use of this universal cosmic language. One of these is the Rig Veda. Mention is made of this document off and on throughout the commentaries, along with others of its kind, in an effort to avail the seeker of some keys with which a better understanding can come. The lack of this insight has left the Veda open to all sorts of erroneous interpretations, in particular wherever the ancient Rishis mention the year, the day in their hymns, or north, south, etc. Scholars ignore the Laws of Correspondence whereby, according to the ancient tradition, one day is equal to one year; therefore they interpret literally and have used these passages to support their theories of an Aryan invasion from the North, more specifically from the Arctic region.
In the main these documents cannot be taken as historical, in the way we record history today. All the invocations of such hymns refer to the cosmic harmony and ‘myth’, and to decipher the text one must know this initiatic language. Nonetheless they have many levels, – both psychological and phenomenal; however, by the very nature of the consciousness of unity in which they were composed, they transcend any limitations to which our present-day mentality has become accustomed. Thus the Vedic year-long sacrifice is a reality of the remote past as well as of today, because the year is today the same as yesterday, the same as the cosmic year of The Magical Carousel, divided into four periods: Cosmic Sunrise, Cosmic Midnight, Cosmic Sunset, and Cosmic Midday. This latter is the Aryan’s ‘northern’ or ‘uppermost’ home, because it is the region of swar where immortality is secured. And this victory is open to all.
The ancient books of knowledge are never confined to a region, a people, a race, a creed, never ‘historic’ as we understand this term today. They always sing of a universal truth, open to all who can pierce the veils, at any point in time, and discover the wisdom that speaks always of unity, of oneness, because it is a harmony of the one and the many. The zodiac is pre-eminently such a wisdom, and only because its unity has been overlooked have seekers been led away from its high message. The wheel must be seen as a whole and as a truth deeply rooted in the present because its source is the soul, the seat of the dharma that is eternal. This is the message of The Magical Carousel, – for children, for adults, for all who by intuition know that history of today will be the myth of tomorrow, until we, as a race, have become so firmly rooted in truth that we shall ever live beneath the ray of the Sun of Knowledge, moving along on our evolutionary path in perfect harmony with the Spirit of a new Time.
Copyright by Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet, 1979
Published by Aeon Books
Available @ www.aeongroup.com or www.patrizianorellibachelet.com
Do not reproduce without permission from the author.
I’ve been a student of The New Way for awhile, and recently I begin to grasp the significance of what Thea has written above in her Introduction about the tropical zodiac as the cosmic script for an INITIATION.
What becomes clearer as I live and study this path is that the 12 month year of 365 days is the focus of these Mysteries. It is the same year that the Vedic Rishis called the ‘SACRIFICIAL YEAR’. What was the sacrifice then? What is the sacrifice now? To answer this gets at the heart of the INITIATION.
By examining the wheel/year divided into its four quarters we get the clues – Thea talks about COSMIC TIME. Entrance into each of the four periods of the sacrifice is through the four CARDINAL points of the tropical zodiac: aries, cancer, libra and capricorn.
The initiate begins the journey into the Mysteries in Cosmic Sunrise (Aries, Taurus and Gemini) — physical matter is being readied; it is the beginning of creation. The next triad of symbols – Cancer, Leo and Virgo, take the traveller into Cosmic Midnight. This plunge into cosmic darkness describes the stage of vital evolution – the creation of the individual ego which separates us from the Divne Oneness. Traditionally this has been described in religions as The Fall. In terms of this INITIATION IT IS HARDLY A FALL.
There are six more symbols to go – only by experiencing the unity of the zodiac as a whole can we understand its full and high message, as Thea writes. Cosmic Sunset is the next quarter and in the symbols of Libra, Scorpio and Saggitarius we experience the evolution of mind. Mental man/woman is a stage toward our goal — mind/ego cannot satisfy that aspiration in us for unity with our Divine Origin.
The last quarter, Cosmic Midday, the Sun is overhead, casting no shadows. Entry into Capricorn is entry into the Mountain. And in this initiation, we come face to face with our teacher, who impart the sacred knowledge and reveals the Mysteries of Mother Earth. In this 10th month, Capricorn, we see our real self, as against our superficial or play-acting self. All our limitations and all our possibilities are there before us.
The phases of cosmic time are the same for everyone; but each student expriences them in a different way. The journey is for all; each one decides how far he/she wants to travel.
Patricia.
I would like to clarify for readers that ‘Thea’ and Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet are one in the same. At times she is referenced as ‘Thea’; other times a ‘Patrizia Norell-Bachelet’.
Jan
I just started to read the Gnostic Circle and the Magical Carousel. I just can feel the depth of the writings, but cannot grasp yet the meaning. I am interested in the explanation on the past occasions, as for instance the meaning of the pyramids, where once I was attracted to and ended in a black hole. Another item is the past forming of the earth, planets and stars, universe. As for instance Lemuria, Atlantis, Mu, etc. of which I have heard, but not yet grasped. But most of all to understand the Integral Yoga of Total Surrender, which gives a deeper meaning to life than the shallow earthly luxuries.
Hopefully the insight will grow to an overall, all embracing knowledge, which will come through the Cosmic knowledge, offered here..
Love and Light
Chris