The Seven Rays Influencing My Natal Chart
I’ve been exploring esoteric astrology of late in more detail because it incorporates the influence of the Seven Rays and looks at astrology from a soul-centered perspective rather than the typical personality perspective. The very idea that rays of energy emerge from Source comprising the building blocks of the universe and humanity is amazing. I remember years ago reading about The Tibetan as well as the channelings and work of Alice A. Bailey so taking another look at this prescient system has been a wonderful journey, especially now that I was able to get my Solar Fire software to work with Parallels on my new MacBook. I typically purchase the professional versions of most software I use and the thought of not being able to use it on my Mac was upsetting, so, Yay!
Aside from Lucis Trust, the repository for Ms. Bailey’s work, I’ve been reading some additional information from Alan Oken and other authors and I unearthed a book I bought years ago by Myrna Loftus called Spiritual Astrology and plan to look at it again in the near future. I also found several sites featuring compilation work which I’ve listed below in the Reference section. But so far, it’s a little confusing when determining which ray applies to the Soul, Personality, Monad, etc. So I’ll take the easy way out and use my Solar Fire chart to obtain them. In any event, here are the Rays in their respective order:
- 1st Ray of Will/Power ~ creative initiation, the power to both destroy and to create, purposeful
- 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom ~ universal love and brotherhood, awareness of the greater unified presence, cohesiveness, unity, service to others
- 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence ~ synthesis and illumination, spiritual intelligence or Higher Self within, a path of a disciple, education, research, clairsentience, abstraction
- 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict ~ the balancing or resting point in the center of the seven rays, harmonious, rhythmic
- 5th Ray of Concrete Knowledge ~ practical, common sense, discipleship, analytical, scientific
- 6th Ray of Devotion/Idealism ~ expression of the Middle Way, devotion to ideals or beliefs, service to others, spiritually committed to the greater good
- 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic ~ embracing the truth of the Soul, energetic alignment, universal consciousness, aligned expression of Divine Self through the personality, magick
The projective consciousness of Source Energy or the universe is a living entity. Seven Rays emerge from Source, moving through the fabric of space/time to enter our solar system through the gate of our Sun. But before reaching our Sun, the Seven Rays move through Ursa Major, through the Pleiades, and then through the star, Sirius. The Rays then move through Ursa Minor and from there align with the twelve constellations of the Zodiac only after which do they move through our Sun to our solar system’s seven sacred planets. From there, the Ray emanations imbue the twelve signs of the Zodiac with divine energy along with our chakra system, humanity, and the remainder of creation. Trust me when I say that my description of the process is barely rudimentary at best. This is a truly beautiful concept that resonates more than anything else for me and I love visualizing the process the Rays take in creation.
Of course, there are correspondences that would make any witch excited and there are specific planets, both exoteric and esoteric, sacred and non-sacred, that correspond to the rays so while the Sun may align in the 2nd Ray, an additional Ray(s) influences when you consider the Ray of the sign in which the Sun appears. From my Solar Fire chart, here are the planets in their signs, the sign’s esoteric or soul-centered ruler along with their respective rays:
- Ascendant in Virgo ~ Moon
- Ascendant position has no specific Ray
- Virgo ~ 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom, 6th Ray of Devotion/Idealism
- Moon (esoteric ruler of Virgo) ~ 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict
- Moon in Gemini ~ Venus
- Moon ~ 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict
- Gemini ~ 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom
- Venus (esoteric ruler of Gemini) ~ 5th Ray of Concrete Knowledge
- Earth in Aries ~ Mercury
- Earth ~ 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence
- Aries ~ 1st Ray of Will/Power, 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic
- Mercury (esoteric ruler of Aries) ~ 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict
- Sun in Libra ~ Uranus
- Sun ~ 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom
- Libra ~ 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence
- Uranus (esoteric ruler of Libra) ~ 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic
- Vulcan in Libra ~ Uranus
- Vulcan ~ 1st Ray of Will/Power
- Libra ~ 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence
- Uranus (esoteric ruler of Libra) ~ 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic
- Mercury in Libra ~ Uranus
- Mercury ~ 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict
- Libra ~ 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence
- Uranus (esoteric ruler of Libra) ~ 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic
- Venus in Sagittarius ~ Earth
- Venus ~ 5th Ray of Concrete Knowledge
- Sagittarius ~ 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict, 5th Ray of Concrete Knowledge, 6th Ray of Devotion/Idealism
- Earth (esoteric ruler of Saturn) ~ 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence
- Mars in Libra ~ Uranus
- Mars ~ 6th Ray of Devotion/Idealism
- Libra ~ 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence
- Uranus (esoteric ruler of Libra) ~ 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic
- Jupiter in Libra ~ Uranus
- Jupiter ~ 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom
- Libra ~ 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence
- Uranus (esoteric ruler of Libra) ~ 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic
- Saturn in Sagittarius ~ Earth
- Saturn ~ 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence
- Sagittarius ~ 4th Ray of Harmony through Conflict, 5th Ray of Concrete Knowledge, 6th Ray of Devotion/Idealism
- Earth (esoteric ruler of Sagittarius) ~ 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence
- Uranus in Leo ~ Sun
- Uranus ~ 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic
- Leo ~ 1st Ray of Will/Power, 5th Ray of Concrete Knowledge
- Sun (esoteric ruler of Leo) ~ 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom
- Neptune in Scorpio ~ Mars
- Neptune ~ 6th Ray of Devotion/Idealism
- Scorpio ~ 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict
- Mars (esoteric ruler of Scorpio) ~ 6th Ray of Devotion/Idealism
- Pluto in Virgo ~ Moon
- Pluto ~ 1st Ray of Will/Power
- Virgo ~ 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom, 6th Ray of Devotion/Idealism
- Moon ~ 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict
- Chiron in Aquarius ~ Jupiter
- Chiron ~ 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom
- Aquarius ~ 5th Ray of Concrete Knowledge
- Jupiter (esoteric ruler of Aquarius) ~ 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom
- Vesta in Aries ~ Mercury
- Vesta ~ 6th Ray of Devotion/Idealism
- Aries ~ 1st Ray of Will/Power, 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic
- Mercury (esoteric ruler of Aries) ~ 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict
- Pallas in Taurus ~ Vulcan
- Pallas ~ 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence
- Taurus ~ 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict
- Vulcan (esoteric ruler of Taurus) ~ 1st Ray of Will/Power
- Juno in Gemini ~ Venus
- Juno ~ 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic
- Gemini ~ 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom
- Venus (esoteric ruler of Gemini) ~ 5th Ray of Concrete Knowledge
- Ceres in Cancer ~ Neptune
- Ceres ~ 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom
- Cancer ~ 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence, 7th Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic
- Neptune (esoteric ruler of Cancer) ~ 6th Ray of Devotion/Idealism
- North Node in Scorpio ~ Mars
- North Node Ray is unknown
- Scorpio ~ 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict
- Mars (esoteric ruler of the North Node) ~ 6th Ray of Devotion/Idealism
- South Node in Taurus ~ Vulcan
- South Node Ray is unknown
- Taurus ~ 4th Ray of Harmony Through Conflict
- Vulcan (esoteric ruler of the South Node) ~ 1st Ray of Will/Power
- Midheaven in Gemini ~ Venus
- Midheaven Ray is unknown
- Gemini ~ 2nd Ray of Love/Wisdom
- Venus (esoteric ruler of Venus) ~ 5th Ray of Concrete Knowledge
Looking at my Solar Fire Natal chart, I’m not sure how their ray tabulations come out the way they do, but it indicates that I’m strongest in the 2nd Ray. My own tabulations add Rays 3 and 4 to that position. All told, the Rays break down to the following:
- 1st Ray ~ 7
- 2nd Ray ~ 11
- 3rd Ray ~ 11
- 4th Ray ~ 11
- 5th Ray ~ 8
- 6th Ray ~ 9
- 7th Ray ~ 10
So you can see that Rays 2 (Love/Wisdom), 3 (Active Intelligence), and 4 (Harmony Through Conflict) dominate followed by Ray 7 (Ceremonial Order/Magic), 6 (Devotion/Idealism), 5 (Concrete Knowledge), and then 1 (Will/Power). And when you look at each planet, you see that there are at least three Ray influences at work: the planet itself, the sign that it’s in at the time of birth (or in a transit chart, etc), and the esoteric ruler of the sign. Traditional astrology looks at a sign’s ruler in what’s considered an exoteric manner and depicts them differently than the esoteric or soul-centered rulers. So in this regard, Venus would be Libra’s exoteric ruler while Uranus is its esoteric ruler.
Looking at the Ascendant in Virgo, Rays 2, 4, and 6 are influencing with an overall focus on Ray 2 Will/Power. This indicates a focus on unity and service to others over service to self where harmony is favored over conflict. The Sun in Libra brings in Rays 2, 3, and 7 again suggesting an awareness of and focus on expressing the Higher Self over ego. Awareness of the greater unified presence if felt with these Rays. Rays 4, 2, and 5 are the Moon’s Rays and in the sign of Gemini, unity with others adds a practical sense or dimension with a focus on harmonious rhythm with others.
From my research, it seems that as we move from a personality or ego-centered life to an awareness of the soul within that drives us, the planetary forces have less of an impact, the Rays that move through them providing the true influence in our daily lives. So whether we look at a natal chart or any other type of chart, in theory, it may be more valid for those on the soul-awareness tract to simply look at the rays of influence for that day or month or whatever embracing and incorporating their message into our lives.
As my reading of Alice A. Bailey’s Esoteric Astrology continues, I’ll post more about what I learn. I’ve included a link to Lucis Trust below if anyone is interested in reading her incredible body of work.
Blessings!
References:
If anyone intends to either quote something I've written, or intends to post any part of my work, including my videos, on any other site, please ask permission before doing so. Any reposting of my work without permission can be considered as copyright infringement, so please ask. And if I give permission, you MUST clearly reference my name as author and my website. No exceptions. The words an author writes are sacred. Unapproved use is not.
Thank you... Jan Erickson
