Scorpio 155There is a great secret in Scorpio which can be
understood with the aid of the principle of Libra and its
correspondences. The content of the whole creation
becomes active and passive alternately on its own surface.
The active phase causes all the worlds to emerge. The
passive phase inhales the worlds once again into the One
Essence. This two-way process is called the ‘Divine Breath’
in the Secret Doctrine. Normally we believe that the grosser
planes are the result of the condensation of subtler matter.
In fact it is the other way round. The absolute Divine
Essence becomes thinner and thinner until it is dispersed
into the many states of matter. Matter is a break in space
as we can understand it. “Fohat digs holes in space”. These
holes are widened into the material worlds. For this
reason, matter represents the relative absence of spirit-
consciousness. Scorpio represents this absence of spirit-
consciousness (sin). We have said that spirit descends into
matter in the form of a spiral. The coils of this spiral are
very closely connected with each other. There is the
formation of a series of rings which become smaller and
smaller. The body of the serpent, scorpion and snail
represent this process. For this reason, these crawling
insects are governed by this sign. Poison causes loss of
consciousness. For this reason many of these insects are
poisonous to man.
The eagle is the enemy of the serpent. Hence the
eagle that is located in this sign represents the same spiral
passage, in a reversed direction, which leads upwards the
spirit in man from Scorpio to Taurus on the path of the
equinoxes. Then the serpent is vanquished by the eagle.
The Elixir of Life is brought down by the eagle (the
upward path) to release its mother from bondage.* The
- See Garuda in Appendix A.