Character Insight from Spiritual Astrology...Bill Gates
The 1st Decanate of Scorpio is Scorpio/Scorpio — It is pictured in the sky as the Constellation, Ophiuchus. Its rulership spans from October 23 to November 2.
Keyword: RESOURCEFULNESS.
Ophiuchus and the Serpent
Johann Elert Bode, 1805, public domain Wikimedia
To convey the spiritual lesson tied to the sex decanate of Scorpio, ancient spiritual scholars looked to the stars and selected the constellation Ophiuchus. This figure is depicted wrestling with a massive serpent, symbolizing the force of creation and the primal energy of reproduction. The ancients sought to highlight the unstoppable power of the reproductive drive—one of the three core forces that propel life forward. Ophiuchus' struggle mirrors humanity's challenge to channel this powerful creative energy in ways that are healthy, purposeful, and ultimately beneficial to both the individual and society.
The spiritual teaching for this decanate is, “Continual Kindness Between the Sexes Generates a Power by Which the Heights may be Scaled.” In Zain's lessons, masculine and feminine energies are discussed in terms of positive and negative polarity, much like the charges in electricity (+ and -). However, if we expand this idea beyond traditional male-female dynamics, we can see how the interaction of positive and negative energies creates new and powerful forces on all levels—physical, mental, and spiritual. This concept can be applied broadly to all people and groups with whom we engage in creative endeavors. The more compassionate, considerate, and cooperative we are, the greater our ability to rise above the struggles of managing creative desire. Collaboration, especially when it unites diverse perspectives, leads to the development of resources and solutions that previously didn’t exist. The keyword for this decanate is RESOURCEFULNESS, reflecting the ability to harness this energy for the greater good.
The Sun in a birth chart symbolizes the divine spark that fuels the drive for significance, offering key insights into a person’s life purpose. For Bill Gates, whose Sun is in this decanate, creative urges have been the force propelling him forward. Resourcefulness, which is the decanate's keyword, is all about finding quick, clever ways to overcome challenges using whatever tools and opportunities are available. It’s a mix of mindset and strategy, and a great example of this is seen in the early years of Bill Gates.
As a young boy, Gates became captivated by the power of machines to perfectly execute computer code. By eighth grade, he had written his first software program. Thanks to a fundraiser by his school’s Mother’s Club, Gates and his classmates gained access to a Teletype Model 33 ASR terminal and a block of computer time on a GE computer. But once the funds ran out, Gates and his friends took matters into their own hands. Using their resourcefulness, they discovered and exploited bugs in various computer systems to gain free programming time. While their actions landed them a temporary ban, their ingenuity was undeniable. After their punishment, they leveraged their skills by offering to find and fix bugs in exchange for free computer access—turning a setback into an opportunity.
Though this early display of resourcefulness wasn’t the most ethical or spiritually elevated, it demonstrates how a powerful desire can attract resources and partnerships. Gates’ passion for coding and innovation would later lead him, alongside his childhood friend Paul Allen, to co-found Microsoft, revolutionizing the microcomputer industry. Gates eventually became one of the wealthiest people in the world. However, his rise wasn’t without controversy, as his business practices were criticized for being anti-competitive—a conclusion upheld in several court rulings.
Regardless of how one feels about Gates personally, his capacity for resourcefulness and his knack for generating wealth, especially through partnerships, is undeniable. In 2000, with his then-wife, channeling vast resources into philanthropy, they founded one of the world’s largest charitable organizations, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, dedicated to improving global healthcare, education, and reducing poverty. Later, in 2010, Gates, along with Warren Buffett, launched “The Giving Pledge,” urging billionaires to commit at least half of their wealth to charity.
Stellarians believe that each person must judge their own spirituality by how they contribute to universal welfare. Gates’ journey illustrates the ongoing struggle between personal ambition and the higher calling to uplift humanity—something symbolized by Ophiuchus, the figure of spiritual struggle with the creative urges. Whether one views Gates’ actions as self-serving or philanthropic, his financial contributions to improving the world are significant, showing that the path to spirituality is often filled with challenges, growth, and transformation.
For greater insight into the decanates of spiritual astrology, click here for more about Scorpio and the RESOURCEFUNESS decanate in Course VII or here for “The Second Eighteen Decanates Analyzed” in Course X-1.
To purchase, Click here for Course VII, Spiritual Astrology or here for Course X-1, Delineating the Horoscope.
Scorpio: The 8th Sign of the Zodiac
October 23 thru November 22
I Desire
REALIZE your highest possiblities...
The BofL lessons show us that through desire, we tap into deeper, inner realms of energy. Depending on our emotional state, we either attract the purest, life-giving energies from the universe or the heaviest, most dense forces from the murkier layers of existence.
Desire energy is either creative or destructive—light or dark. It can be expressed in any field. All art is its expression. Creative writing calls it into use. The orator sways an audience with it. Whether it trends upward carrying its user on the back of the Eagle into rarer spiritual atmospheres or sinks into the mire of grossness and dissipation depends upon the nature of the Desire. If Desire is in the direction of refinement, charged with aspiration to something better, progress is assured. We move toward the images of our DESIRE.
We also learn that attitude is everything! Every day, consciously or unconsciously, each of us make choices that impact how we experience tomorrow. By seeing the worst in our fellow humans and entertaining dystopian thoughts of suffering, selfishness, and injustice, we create this reality for ourselves. If instead, we entertain utopian thoughts based upon believing in a society where people are doing their best to realize their dreams, we facilitate the creation of a future of possibility for everyone. The world isn't perfect, which is why we're here, but you can choose to fly on the back of your Eagle. While you are soaring, lend a helping hand to lift someone else. Make tomorrow a good day!
Click here for more of this meditation and a companion exercise.
Discordant Mars—Aggressive Urges: For use at times when strife, haste and waste of energy, harshness, temper or violence enter our life.
Constructive Aggressive Urges express as Initiative in the use of energies for constructive work and action, building up instead of tearing down.
Discordant Pluto—Universal Welfare Urges: For use in times when you experience group turmoil, are feeling coercion and excessive negativity.
Constructive Universal Welfare Urgesexpress as Spirituality by lively, energetic, and resourceful action with others for the Welfare of All.
O Thou Eternal Spirit, in Whom I live, move, breathe and have my Being! Temper my aggressive activity with gentleness in all that I do and say. Direct my love into channels of care and protection for others. Let the chief interest of my life be constructive service to the weak and helpless.
In this classic series, Elbert Benjamine explains the astrological significance of the sign Scorpio and its relationship to Arcanum IV, The Sovereign tarot card...to be a Sovereign is to act from one's Divine Nature.
The Sovereign card expresses:
In the spiritual world—REALIZATION of participating in the continuously unfolding powers of the Absolute Being that follows a natural and higher order with never-ending potential.
In the mental world—REALIZING and developing ideas of existence through four mental processes: affirming, denying, analyzing, and resolving.
In the physical world—REALIZATION of actions driven by knowledge of truth, love of justice, force of Will, and the use of our abilities.
ADMONITION paraphrased from The Sacred Tarot:
Remember, nothing can stand in the way of a firm Will supported by truth and justice. Fighting for its REALIZATION isn't just right—it's a duty. Triumphing in this struggle fulfills your earthly purpose. Devoting yourelf to it gains immortality. If the Sovereign appears in your horoscope, it means your success depends on someone with more power than yourself. REALIZATION of your hopes depends upon a being more powerful than you. Seek to know this Being and you will find support.
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Why Astrology and the Tarot are so important to understanding Traditional Knowledge
The word Kabala signifies traditional knowledge. It thus refers to the Oral Law, as handed down from antiquity; and embraces the occult traditions of all lands and all peoples. Often it is used merely as referring to the esoteric doctrines of the Jews; but in its broader sense it includes also the secret doctrine of other races. This secret doctrine, common to many lands, was jealously guarded from the profane, and was never permitted to pass into writing except in such ambiguous terms as to baffle the uninitiated as to its true purport. In this sense the sacred books of the world, including the Avesta, the Vedas and the Bible are largely kabalistical; for they set forth traditions that are capable of an inner, or esoteric, interpretation. In fact, there are usually several interpretations possible, each more inner version revealing a deeper truth to those who have advanced along the path far enough to comprehend it.
And this seems the proper place to point out that the unwritten kabala, like the written kabala, is set forth in symbolical language, with purposeful blinds and subterfuges to confuse the uninitiated; so that of the few who undoubtedly exist at the present day who have received it, most remain in as much ignorance of its true interpretation as the majority of students do after studying the more accessible written kabala. This unwritten kabala has been transmitted only through certain secret schools. Those receiving it well merit what is given to them. They are left to their own devices in the matter of interpretation. And because the real keys to its interpretation—astrology and the tarot—have been largely ignored, or distorted, they have floundered sadly in arriving at its meaning. Whether written or unwritten, the kabala is a philosophy correlated to esoteric astrology as exemplified by the tarot; and it can only be comprehended fully by those who perceive the true relation between astrological energies and their pictured tarot exemplification.
Excerpts from The Sacred Tarot by C. C. Zain
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Astrology of World Affairs by Hermetician Dennis Sutton
ancient wisdom — modern science
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What does the Holographic Theory of the Universe and Quantum Theory have to do with our Hermetic teachings?
In this article we will attempt to present aspects that pertain to the Hermetic Teachings of the Church of Light. We also encourage you to investigate these theories for yourself...
The Brotherhood of Light lessons encourage us to study the Book of Nature...
Nature manifests through Diversity.
Diversity is the key to survival..mastering its many facets is the means by which we thrive.
Fear of the unknown and that which is different from self manifests throughout nature.
Through Cooperation we express the Will of Deity,
gain the freedom that results from transformation,
and achieve a sense of personal fulfillment, harmony, balance ... spirituality.
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