As we continue our Soul's journey through the twelve zodiac signs, the sentient 'spark' of light that ignited in Aries, became a conscious beam of light in Taurus, multiple rays of intelligent light in Gemini, incarnated into form in Cancer, developed a sense of self in Leo, felt the urge to serve in Virgo, faced choice in Libra, triumphed over worldly desires in Scorpio, found the way home in Sagittarius, walked the path in Capricorn, emerged as the embodiment of an awakened heart in Aquarius, now reaches the final destination as a body of light in Pisces.

As a result of the capacity to flow compassion through bodhicitta, which was attained in Aquarius, the Pisces Soul continuously emanates light in the form of universal love and compassion until the density of the body begins to dissolve into a light body. In the Tibetan tradition this is known as the Rainbow Body. Beings who have attained Rainbow Body no longer need to take physical incarnation (although they may choose to do so) but are continuously devoting their energy to the benefit of alal sentient beings. This is what the Tibetan means by the term "World Savior".

In earlier newsletters we explored how, according to the Tibetan tradition, everything manifests from source, through the light realm into the physical realm.

On our Soul's journey out through the stages of Aries, Taurus, and Gemini, our Soul was in the light realm. In Cancer, Leo, Virgo, and Libra the Soul was in physical form. Scorpio was the point of transformation, where Soul and form become one. Now the Soul is on the return journey: the path, way, or method was found in Sagittarius, applied in Capricorn, and in Aquarius began to emanate light, while still in physical form. Now in Pisces the Soul dissolves into light yet also in form: in the form known as the Rainbow Body.

So what does this mean for us personally? Let's explore!

Pisces - Universal Consciousness

The sign of Pisces, more than any other, is associated with suffering and more importantly, the end of suffering. This is because Pisces is the sign of universal consciousness and as consciousness expands we become aware of every drop in the ocean. We notice the beauty of coral reefs, the crystal clear turquoise seas that surround them, filled with myriad colors of sea creatures, yet at the same time we are also aware of polluted seas, devoid of life, and entire floating islands of plastic contamination.

The extreme beauty, the extreme horror, and everything in between, is revealed in the light of expanding consciousness, which is why Pisces is also the sign of escapism. To be aware of everything is unbearable to us at the ego personality level. We cannot tolerate such extremes. If we try to 'escape' by using drugs, alcohol, TV, games, sex, gambling, or any worldly pursuits to distract ourselves, we are only putting off the inevitable and reinforcing the cycle of death and rebirth. The solution is to embrace our fear and courageously keep on walking towards the light. Such extremes can only be embraced and healed by universal love and compassion, which allows everything to 'heal' by returning to the whole: oneness.

The ultimate awakening transcends all dualities. In reality all extremes and opposites are of the same nature, which is love. The Beatles sang "All You Need is Love" but we are not yet at a stage where we can understand this. If we are chasing the light and pushing away the dark, we are reinforcing a sense of 'good' and 'bad' and keeping ourselves in the duality of separation.

Everything Is Love

What we experience as 'bad' has arisen from the same Source as whatever we experience as 'good'. This is the highest wisdom of Pisces and relates to the sacred teachings on emptiness. This is why Pluto, the planet most associated with 'emptiness' is the Soul Ruler of Pisces.

In many Buddhist traditions the highest wisdom possible is considered to be the wisdom realizing emptiness. This reminds us that: everything is one ongoing dance of interrelated energy; that nothing is permanent; and that nothing exists independently from everything else.

What Is Emptiness? In English, emptiness implies a void: nothing. Yet the Tibetan tradition suggests 'emptiness' is the true nature of reality, and the whole purpose of our spiritual journey is to realise this for ourselves, through heightened awareness and our own experience.

A Wave In The Ocean of Love

To understand this, we might imagine waves in the ocean. We might look at a beautiful crystal blue wave on a calm sea and thing "this is good". Then, we might see a dark wave looming from a deep foreboding ocean and think "This is bad". Yet both waves have the same nature as water. The labels 'good and 'bad' are relative to the situation. If you're in a boat on the ocean, it will be very important to distinguish between a calm sea and a turbulent one, but if you are looking at the ocean from a distance it's all just water. Now if we think of the ocean as love itself, we might come close to understanding what it means to say all things arise from the same source, and that source is love.

The Rainbow Body

Esoterically, Pisces is also said to be the sign where it is possible to triumph over death. In our earlier newsletter on Capricorn we briefly mentioned the Tibetan concept of the Rainbow Body. This is a process that can begin in Capricorn and culminate in Pisces for advanced Souls on the path. Souls that the Tibetan would say are fully Soul-Centered, on the cardinal cross stage of their development.

For Souls that attain Rainbow Body in this sense there is no physical death. As a result of continuously flowing bodhicitta (the substance of compassion) through an awakened heart, and the final release of any trace of ego (a sense of a separate self) the physical body becomes lighter and lighter, eventually dissolving into light and rainbow colors without having to go through physical death. The individual then continues to exist and serve in the light realms. This is what the Tibetan means when he speaks of triumphing over death.

The Power of Pisces

The Tibetan describes Pisces as the sign of the "World Savior", yet this term is easily misunderstood. The "Savior" we speak of here is an essence, a flow of universal love and compassion (bodhicitta), that permeates the whole of reality and emanates from an open heart.

The power of Pisces therefore lies not in doing (that would be the domain of Pisces' opposite sign Virgo), but rather in being. It is the power that naturally emanates, like a fragrance, from a sacred heart. A sacred heart is one that realizes it is inseparable from all that is. The Soul-centered individual in Pisces knows the universal truth of how the ocean arises as the wave, exists momentarily, and then dissolves back into the ocean. At no time has the wave ever been separated from it's true nature as the ocean.

Likewise, individual Souls arise from the Divine ocean of Universal Love and Compassion. At no time is an individual ever separated from their Divine Nature, the true nature of reality, and eventually the individual dissolves back into universal love and compassion.

A Journey of Love

The Soul's journey is one of love: Love, emanating out from itself, only to fall into the ecstasy of embrace within itself as it returns.

As an individual wave of love returns home to itself, it is the very fragrance of love and compassion emanating from that wave, that benefits all sentient beings along the way. It is the essence, the fragrance, of LOVE itself that is the world Savior.

Once you become familiar with the concept of an individual Soul being a wave and the ocean at the same time, while carrying the eternal fragrance of love, then you will have a deeper understanding of the Tibetan's keynote for Pisces:

Conclusion:

Why does the Soul take this journey at all? It is a natural process: some spiritual traditions liken this process to God, or Brahman, breathing in and out. As (he) breaths out, entire universes are breathed into existence, and as he breathes in they dissolve back into the formless body of God again.

This is how Love gets to experience itself.