Vulcan through the Signs

(Artwork by Kagaya)

Planet of the 1st Ray

One should note that the position of Vulcan in the natal chart is always conjunct the Sun and very often conjunct Mercury as well. It is within 8 degrees 20 minutes of the position of the Sun. One should also be aware that Vulcan is not always in the same sign as the Sun.

The following shows Vulcan in the Signs pointing out the nature of Vulcan when operating at the point of transition from the Mutable to the Fixed Cross and its effects when operating through the life of the Soul centred individual who has securely mounted the Fixed Cross.

VULCAN IN ARIES

This is a very potent position leading to the right use of will as the First Ray energies of sign and planet unite.

When in the transitional state, this position of Vulcan often indicates a person with a very strong but highly self-righteous mind. The ~tools~ which Vulcan serves to fashion in this sign allow for the mind {Mercury’s esoteric rulership of Aries} to align itself with the will of the Plan. This requires a detachment of the mind from its service to the ego.

Once the transition to the Fixed Cross is accomplished, the mind of the individual is then focused on service to humanity, as Mercury connects with Taurus (and hence with Vulcan) through the Fourth Ray. A person who can consciously utilise Vulcan in Aries can help to break down other people’s resistance to higher consciousness, through the de-crystallisation of non-regenerative thought forms.

VULCAN IN TAURUS

Esoteric Ruler

In the transitional phase, the individual is presented with main, often painful, tests of detachment. This may manifest as loss of either objects of people. The purpose is to aid the individual in breaking his thralldom with the desire nature as it centers in form.

Once the Fixed Cross is mounted, the natural magnetism and power of Vulcan in Taurus allows the person to create a vital channel for the expression of the Will and Power of the First Ray. The soul-centered individual then becomes a vehicle for the ~redemption~ of matter, so that is (as well as the individual) may serve some larger, impersonal function.

The area in the life in which this higher purpose may be found can be ascertained through Vulcan’s placement in the natal chart.

VULCAN IN GEMINI

In its initial phase, Vulcan in this position gives rise to a very critical mind, ever seeking to destroy those opinions that contest ones own.

Yet once a person secures them self on the Fixed Cross, a very intimate relationship is created for the positive use of Vulcan’s energies. Venus, esoteric ruler of Gemini, is also the exoteric ruler of Taurus. A person with this position can thus utilise Vulcan’s function to forge a link between the First and the Fifth Rays. This would lead them to create those interventions and scientific discoveries that evoke the hidden Light contained within matter. The externalisation of this inner design could then be used for the benefit of humanity.

VULCAN IN CANCER

This is a very important position on the collective level, as it is here that Vulcan is confronted with the energies of the mass consciousness. Its primary function (to instil detachment from form) presents itself quite distinctly.

When on the transitional stages of the Crosses, Vulcan’s placement in this sign points to those tests of release from past patterns of attachment, especially relative to the expressions of the emotions and the astral body. The will/Power of the First Ray must be free to create, without being hampered by the nurturing energies of Cancer. Nurturing, in this respect, means the matrix which forms itself around the impulse of the Will, aiding its descent into the lower planes and kingdoms. Yet if this matrix becomes too solidified, through patterns of repeated desires, the movement of the Will becomes impeded.

When on the Fixed Cross, this position would tend to stimulate the creation of those mental and physical channels and structures (Cancer’s relationship to the Third and Seventh Rays) that would be most appropriate to the unfolding of the Plan.

VULCAN IN LEO

When moving off the Mutable Cross, Vulcan in Leo indicates those tests which serve to free the individual from a self-centered attachment to the creative potentials of the lower self. Egocentricity now must yield to a focus of group consciousness.

Once this re-polarisation takes place and Vulcan is externalising through the Fixed Cross, all the potency of the Will and the Concrete Mind (Leo’s association with the First and Fifth Rays) can be utilised as expressions of group consciousness and channels for the Second Ray energy of the Sun.

VULCAN IN VIRGO

The detachment from form seems to be particularly difficult when one is making the transition to the Fixed Cross with Vulcan in this sign. As the Moon, Mother of All Forms, is the ruler, this placement of Vulcan creates a great conflict, because the attachment to the nurturing process is quite intense. The individual would have to allow the healing and cohesive life force of the Universal Mother to sustain the objects of her caring. This means releasing oneself from the strong personal emotional expressions of the Second, Fourth and Sixth Ray energies in this position, (Virgo and the Moon) so that the focus of Will can be externalised, unimpeded by the lower self.

When the Fixed Cross has been mounted, the individual with Vulcan in Virgo is aligned with the Mother, and can then be a conscious vehicle, co-creating the force for any necessary healing.

VULCAN IN LIBRA

This position of Vulcan is very ~Will-focused~. There is a very close affinity with the First and Seventh Rays as they relate to the inherent relationship between Spirit/Will and Matter/manifestation.

During the transition from the Mutable to the Fixed Cross, a person with Vulcan in Libra is apt to experience a deep change in the scope of his personal relationships. Even if he is on the Path of world Service at the time, the nature of his social aspirations and his interaction within a group context in order to externalise some collective purpose is bound to undergo a major shift.

Will cannot be sustained by the lesser self for the purpose of structuring collective human energies according to his personal, mental image of same, now matter how idealistic. A merger must be made with the Higher Self/Mind (third Ray) so that he is acting in concert with an unfolding group process.

The latter is firmly placed in motion once the individual has made the necessary transition to life on the Fixed Cross. Uranus then overshadows Vulcan, and group will and purpose emerge.

VULCAN IN SCORPIO

The primary function of Vulcan is to break attachment to outmoded forms so that new tools of consciousness may be forged for the liberation of the Soul’s presence in the outer life. The energies of Mars, Scorpio and Pluto work so effectively at this task that the need for Vulcan’s effects I this position is diminished.

One could say that in Scorpio, those situations necessary to bring forth the required results for mounting the Fixed Cross are intensified. The First and Fourth Rays are brought into play through Scorpio, Pluto, Vulcan and Taurus, while Mars and the Sixth Ray lead to the cultivation of the one-pointedness required for maintaining one’s focus of soul orientation (Discipleship) on the Fixed Cross.

VULCAN IN SAGITTARIUS

As the teacher, Sagittarius has to be ~armed~ with those concepts which serve to widen humanity’s horizons, so that a greater universitality of thought is achieved.

The individual leaving the Mutable Cross (and his attachments to the personality} must undergo those transmutations which serve to harmonise and blend the degree of understanding he has achieved through the experiences of the personality life with the collective wisdom stored by the Soul.

Vulcan in this position breaks those attachments to the personal mental body, allowing the Third Ray influence of Sagittarius’s ruler, the Earth (and hence also the influence of the other third Ray planet, Saturn), to function from the level of the Higher Self.

This position may indicate that in the present incarnation, the individual may encounter some crisis of disillusionment with his previous belief systems. This leads to the acceptance of those higher concepts and broader ideas that can be communicated to others for the benefit of all.

VULCAN IN CAPRICORN

This is a very strong and powerful placement for Vulcan. It strengthens the influence of the First and Third Rays, as it calls forth an interplay between this planet and Saturn.

Non-regenerative thought processes are challenged and broken down as the lesser self finds that it can no longer maintain its place or status in the outer world. The individual begins to lose their attachment to whatever influence has been achieved over others, and a direct movement is made toward mounting the Fixed Cross.

Initially this may be perceived as a loss of power or strength. Such a transition requires a person to restructure their will and broaden their awareness so that new mental patterns are created. These structures are aligned to the needs of the collective, and serve to anchor the evolutionary Plan for humanity that much more concretely in the material world. (Seventh Ray influence of Capricorn and Uranus).

VULCAN IN AQUARIUS

In esoteric astrology one can look at Uranus as the higher octave of Vulcan (as well as Mercury) as once Vulcan has helped to destroy the attachments and adherence to the forms created by the lower self, Uranus can then work as the channel for the birthing of new archetypes for the evolution of the individual and humanity.

The connection between Vulcan and Uranus is therefore very strong when Vulcan is placed in Aquarius.

(a little ~side note~ here : As Jupiter is the esoteric ruler of Aquarius, there is a blending of Rays One {Vulcan}, Five {Aquarius}, Seven {Uranus} and Two {Jupiter}. (The fourth Ray of Vulcan’s sign, Taurus, influences all placements of this planet, and its connection with the fourth Kingdom of Humanity should be kept in mind when studying Vulcan’s effects. We can say that all ~vulcanic~ crises are particularly human in their effects, especially in relation to a person’s transition from the Mutable to the Fixed Cross.}

The function of Vulcan in Aquarius is to shatter all human attachments that do not serve the purpose of the Higher Self, and hence the needs of the collective. In initial phases, the individual with this placement may find that there is a crisis in the life brought about by gradual detachment from friends and associations. They begin to look for~brothers and sisters of like minds~ with whom they can interact with loving impersonality. This differs widely from associations that fulfil personal emotional needs or are maintained due to purely social obligations or status.

When the Fixed Cross has been mounted, the motivation for relationships becomesincreasingly centered in the urge for World Service.

VULCAN IN PISCES

The first Ray energies of this sign combine with those of Pluto and express themselves through the Second and Sixth Rays. The universal, loving focus and the ultimate death of anything that is not useful to the soul are very much at the heart of the function of Pisces.

An individual with this placement would experience a crisis of releasing any blocks to the power of Love as it seeks to express in the outer world. Personal prejudices would thus ~go the way of all things~ and be replaced by a gradual expansion of loving devotion to the Plan, and thus once mounted on the Fixed Cross by the urge to be of service to the expansion of Love/Wisdom in the world of humanity.

(Reference Alan Oken)

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