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Services Products Forum Blog Free Fun Suff Contact Us About Us Terms and Policies
MysticMindWorks.com a Division of BDBGE LLC.
Mystic Mind Works Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved
The History of the Sabian Symbols
Dr. Marc Edmund Jones (October 1, 1888 to March 8, 1980) dropped out of high school to go into business and years later he completed his formal education with a Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University. He began studying astrology in 1913 and was affectionately known as the dean of American Astrology. He authored eleven books between 1941 and 1979. His work on the Sabian symbols is entitled, The Sabian Symbols in Astrology.
First of all, who were the Sabians and what in the world were they doing in Balboa Park, San Diego in the year 1925 with Dr. Jones and a medium by the name of Elsie Wheeler? Sit back-this is a fascinating telling! Let's let Dr. Jones speak to our higher intellect on the matter first to prepare us for how such a thing could take place! The Sabian?-why that taps back into a time of early Mesopotamian roots!
In order for such an occurrence to take place, the clairvoyant must be able to capture the true spirit of the culture and society into which they desire communication. The limitations and boundaries of one's own present socio-cultural environment must be put aside in the stillness in which the communicating or diving will take place. Such is the stillness and awareness of the true Channeler.
Whether reaching into the past or into the future-by relinquishing the boundaries of the consciousness in such a way individual impressions, unique unto the time upon which one is focused, may blend in with the receiver's individuality in varying and necessary degrees. Now who determines the degrees of necessity and who is capable of best removing conscious barriers? Dr. Marc Edmund Jones would work with two women in particular who held this special ability in a great degree: Ms. Zoe Wells and Ms. Elsie Wheeler.
Jones worked with Ms. Wells two years prior to the arrival of the Sabian symbols. At the time he was working on Charubel's symbols of zodiacal degree and was desirous of an improved set of symbols-Charubel's were admirable and yet were over-moralized. He approached Ms. Wells to see if perhaps they might work together toward such an outcome. Ms. Wells reportedly had a very distinct connection with the Mesopotamians relative to her gift of channeling. She channeled symbols for the 52 playing card deck. Two years later Jones would work with Ms. Wheeler. Elsie Wheeler was wheel-chair bound and had never utilized her gift of clairvoyance in publicly or professionally--only in private sessions for friends. Dr. Jones asked if she would help him with his research and she agreed.
Elsie Wheeler, bound to a wheelchair her entire life, was a clairvoyant with an incredible and exceptional ability at discerning symbols. Dr. Jones took Ms. Wheeler to Balboa Park in 1925:
"There was a screen of trees and bushes, and during the day no one would show any interest in a car parked here for a few hours. Special blank cards were prepared for the 360 degrees, so that they could be shuffled continuously. A quarter of the pile was taken at random for the first session. One card was put face down before the medium, and she reported on the picture she saw by inward vision. This was noted hurriedly in pencil on the card itself. The process continued steadily for nearly two hours, and then after a brief rest another ninety symbols were recorded. After a drive well out into the country, where there was little chance for any intrusion of alien interest but an opportunity for a pleasant and leisurely noon dinner, the sessions were resumed at the same spot in the park and the other degrees interpreted in a similar fashion."
As mentioned previously, this was not the first time such an attempt had been made in the history of Astrology to obtain symbols and meanings for the 360 degrees! No less than seven other such efforts had been attempted, although with apparently less popularity than these Sabian symbols have enjoyed. (The others include, Alan Leo, the Father of Astrology, d'Abano, Charubel, Sepharial, Kozminski, Matthews and Carelli.)
This time however, Dr. Jones had certain directives he wished followed: 1) that the symbols would provide for a more effective and neutral, non-moralizing rendering; 2) that they should reflect modern life in a way which would be clear to any person of average background; and 3) that they would be applicable -or at least no less significant-when a degree was occupied by a planet or any cusp, etc., including the applicability of the day-by-day positioning of the heavenly bodies in their astrological progressions, rather than just the ascendant or degree of the sun. Evidently the entity with whom Elsie was communicating was agreeable to Dr. Jone's requests, as well!
And so, the Sabian symbols were brought about in 1925. Dr. Jones pays tribute to Ms. Wheeler by dedicating his book to her,
"As events have shown, her total contribution was an exceptional achievement, and this one of the author's volumes is dedicated to her memory, in the hope that it may in time become a monument to the beauty of her character and the immortal quality of her ideals."
So, what did these symbols come out like? First of all, they aren't pictures! The symbols are written as word descriptions only, and include not only what Elsie 'saw' and channeled that day, but to which has been added a keynote and a commentary. These vary from author to author in an attempt to give the greatest variety of interpretation available.
Dr. Jones would say, "There are unlimited ways in which these Sabian symbols can be interpreted, and the practiced student or professional astrologer need not confine himself to any one mode of approach." He also made the symbols a part of the course of studies in his Sabian Assembly, which he had founded years before.
Beyond this, permission was graciously granted to Dane Rudhyar to do a further work on the symbols, which was accomplished through two different works: first in an abridgment for his Astrology of Personality (New York, Lucis, 1936) and then in his work, An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and its 360 Symbolic Phases (Vintage Books, New York, May 1974).
It was the two works of Mr. Rudhyar which so popularized the use of the Sabian symbols. He provides us with an in-depth study of each symbol bringing his lifetime of knowledge and quest for personal meaning to bear on their interpretations.
Perhaps Mr. Rudhyar's greatest gift, however, is the model of the cyclic nature of these symbols, i.e. how they inter-relate to one another and build upon one another in sequential order. Without this cyclic nature, the isolated symbols-though of remarkable value-lose their overall transformative nature. Though his language is somewhat dated now-his book was written in 1974-there are other works which have been written on the Sabian symbols since that time. The focus of these works include use of the complementary symbol, or that which is found 180 degrees away at the complementary side of the zodiacal wheel.
The Sabian symbols are a tremendous divinatory system. Almost without exception, the sun enters a new degree of the zodiac. Each day then, there is a new Sabian symbol to discover and entertain the meaning of. This is a great way to start your day-find out the Sabian symbol and see if you feel its influence! (The Sabian symbols are one of the resources used in divining the DailySynch at www.DailySynch.com.)
Dr. Marc Edmund Jones (October 1, 1888 to March 8, 1980) dropped out of high school to go into business and years later he completed his formal education with a Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University. He began studying astrology in 1913 and was affectionately known as the dean of American Astrology. He authored eleven books between 1941 and 1979. His work on the Sabian symbols is entitled, The Sabian Symbols in Astrology.
First of all, who were the Sabians and what in the world were they doing in Balboa Park, San Diego in the year 1925 with Dr. Jones and a medium by the name of Elsie Wheeler? Sit back-this is a fascinating telling! Let's let Dr. Jones speak to our higher intellect on the matter first to prepare us for how such a thing could take place! The Sabian?-why that taps back into a time of early Mesopotamian roots!
In order for such an occurrence to take place, the clairvoyant must be able to capture the true spirit of the culture and society into which they desire communication. The limitations and boundaries of one's own present socio-cultural environment must be put aside in the stillness in which the communicating or diving will take place. Such is the stillness and awareness of the true Channeler.
Whether reaching into the past or into the future-by relinquishing the boundaries of the consciousness in such a way individual impressions, unique unto the time upon which one is focused, may blend in with the receiver's individuality in varying and necessary degrees. Now who determines the degrees of necessity and who is capable of best removing conscious barriers? Dr. Marc Edmund Jones would work with two women in particular who held this special ability in a great degree: Ms. Zoe Wells and Ms. Elsie Wheeler.
Jones worked with Ms. Wells two years prior to the arrival of the Sabian symbols. At the time he was working on Charubel's symbols of zodiacal degree and was desirous of an improved set of symbols-Charubel's were admirable and yet were over-moralized. He approached Ms. Wells to see if perhaps they might work together toward such an outcome. Ms. Wells reportedly had a very distinct connection with the Mesopotamians relative to her gift of channeling. She channeled symbols for the 52 playing card deck. Two years later Jones would work with Ms. Wheeler. Elsie Wheeler was wheel-chair bound and had never utilized her gift of clairvoyance in publicly or professionally--only in private sessions for friends. Dr. Jones asked if she would help him with his research and she agreed.
Elsie Wheeler, bound to a wheelchair her entire life, was a clairvoyant with an incredible and exceptional ability at discerning symbols. Dr. Jones took Ms. Wheeler to Balboa Park in 1925:
"There was a screen of trees and bushes, and during the day no one would show any interest in a car parked here for a few hours. Special blank cards were prepared for the 360 degrees, so that they could be shuffled continuously. A quarter of the pile was taken at random for the first session. One card was put face down before the medium, and she reported on the picture she saw by inward vision. This was noted hurriedly in pencil on the card itself. The process continued steadily for nearly two hours, and then after a brief rest another ninety symbols were recorded. After a drive well out into the country, where there was little chance for any intrusion of alien interest but an opportunity for a pleasant and leisurely noon dinner, the sessions were resumed at the same spot in the park and the other degrees interpreted in a similar fashion."
As mentioned previously, this was not the first time such an attempt had been made in the history of Astrology to obtain symbols and meanings for the 360 degrees! No less than seven other such efforts had been attempted, although with apparently less popularity than these Sabian symbols have enjoyed. (The others include, Alan Leo, the Father of Astrology, d'Abano, Charubel, Sepharial, Kozminski, Matthews and Carelli.)
This time however, Dr. Jones had certain directives he wished followed: 1) that the symbols would provide for a more effective and neutral, non-moralizing rendering; 2) that they should reflect modern life in a way which would be clear to any person of average background; and 3) that they would be applicable -or at least no less significant-when a degree was occupied by a planet or any cusp, etc., including the applicability of the day-by-day positioning of the heavenly bodies in their astrological progressions, rather than just the ascendant or degree of the sun. Evidently the entity with whom Elsie was communicating was agreeable to Dr. Jone's requests, as well!
And so, the Sabian symbols were brought about in 1925. Dr. Jones pays tribute to Ms. Wheeler by dedicating his book to her,
"As events have shown, her total contribution was an exceptional achievement, and this one of the author's volumes is dedicated to her memory, in the hope that it may in time become a monument to the beauty of her character and the immortal quality of her ideals."
So, what did these symbols come out like? First of all, they aren't pictures! The symbols are written as word descriptions only, and include not only what Elsie 'saw' and channeled that day, but to which has been added a keynote and a commentary. These vary from author to author in an attempt to give the greatest variety of interpretation available.
Dr. Jones would say, "There are unlimited ways in which these Sabian symbols can be interpreted, and the practiced student or professional astrologer need not confine himself to any one mode of approach." He also made the symbols a part of the course of studies in his Sabian Assembly, which he had founded years before.
Beyond this, permission was graciously granted to Dane Rudhyar to do a further work on the symbols, which was accomplished through two different works: first in an abridgment for his Astrology of Personality (New York, Lucis, 1936) and then in his work, An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and its 360 Symbolic Phases (Vintage Books, New York, May 1974).
It was the two works of Mr. Rudhyar which so popularized the use of the Sabian symbols. He provides us with an in-depth study of each symbol bringing his lifetime of knowledge and quest for personal meaning to bear on their interpretations.
Perhaps Mr. Rudhyar's greatest gift, however, is the model of the cyclic nature of these symbols, i.e. how they inter-relate to one another and build upon one another in sequential order. Without this cyclic nature, the isolated symbols-though of remarkable value-lose their overall transformative nature. Though his language is somewhat dated now-his book was written in 1974-there are other works which have been written on the Sabian symbols since that time. The focus of these works include use of the complementary symbol, or that which is found 180 degrees away at the complementary side of the zodiacal wheel.
The Sabian symbols are a tremendous divinatory system. Almost without exception, the sun enters a new degree of the zodiac. Each day then, there is a new Sabian symbol to discover and entertain the meaning of. This is a great way to start your day-find out the Sabian symbol and see if you feel its influence! (The Sabian symbols are one of the resources used in divining the DailySynch at www.DailySynch.com.)
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Mystic Mind Works, tarot, spirituality, divination, i-ching, sabian symbols, birth chart, astrology, horoscope
Mystic Mind Works, tarot, spirituality, divination, i-ching, sabian symbols, birth chart, astrology, horoscope
Mystic Mind Works, tarot, spirituality, divination, i-ching, sabian symbols, birth chart, astrology, horoscope
