THE ZODIAC DRAWINGS AND THEIR SYMBOLISM The Aquarius panel over the double-door entrance to the sanctuary designates the Ecclesia as a temple for the Aquarian Age. It shows the androgynous Waterbearer pouring the etheric waters of life upon the globe of the earth. The figure bears a likeness to the Gemini twins, who also represent an airy, mental sign. The icy-grey rings of Saturn, planet of prudence and containment, is contrasted with a luminous Uranus, planet of transformation and universal love, radiating spokes of light. A wintry urban scene suggests the "living together" that this vibration promotes, while the scattering of stars on both sides of the panel suggests the activation of new Aquarian energies and the coming age of the stellar science of astrology. Like its elemental mate Cancer, Pisces shows a twilight waterfront scene, but the mood here is tranquil. The empty boats denote a withdrawal from the outer world of practical affairs and a going within. Three planetary influences are depicted - Jupiter flanked by Venus and Neptune. Two ethereal fish centered in the violet sky above a placid inlet indicate the doubleness or mutability of this sign, ease of movement in the fluid medium of emotions and a sensitivity of subtle impressions. The Aries panel depicts the iconic Ram, powerfully poised, head lowered in the aggressive, martial butting mode, but actually just eating the tender springtime plants. It has drawn away from the brood of ewes and kids to the top of a hillock where its prominence in the budding vernal landscape attests to its readiness to assert its energies. In its most exalted reading, the Ram is the Lamb of God, Who is forever guarding, guiding and sacrificing for the flock of souls seeking the Light. The Taurus panel, acknowledging Venus' dignity and the Moon's exaltation, depicts an ethereal Bull as a celestial group spirit dominating the horizon in a pastoral scene. Several bovines seem to sense the presence of this influence as they gaze toward it in stolid attentiveness. A cottage, smoke issuing from its chimney, suggesting bucolic comforts, nestles in the verdant earth. Mercury-ruled Gemini depicts twin girls in a landscape of flowering trees and fields. Only one of three panels with human subjects, it most conspicuously delineates that part of the anatomy ruled by this sign (shoulders, arms and hands). The bouquet and lei of flowers represent the first gleanings of the mercurial intellect as it applies its powers of observation and discrimination in gathering sensory data. Here the visible world is a garden rife with blooms to be picked and perused by the concrete mind. The water element, symbolizing the soul, is shown in its cardinal (active) mode in Cancer, where the lunar (unconscious) influences create the greatest turbulence, the conscious Jupiterian energies moderate the desire nature through abstract thinking and the superconscious influence of Neptune's rays, positively employed (signified by the enveloping five-pointed star), presides over the most pacific expanse of water. The classical god Neptune's ability to govern water with his trident is thus a reality. On the west wall above the Altar the Leo panel depicts a couchant lion, king of his realm, half silhouetted against a blazing sun encircling the emblem of itself. The majestic towers of a medieval castle provide a worldly metaphor for the regal might of the Leo vibration. The rich tropical growth suggests the life-giving power of the summer sun in its zodiacal dignity. Leo is the sign of the risen Christ and the emblem of spiritual unfoldment. Leo represents the path to Initiation through the heart. The Rosicrucian path of initiation commences at the door of intellect under the mental sign Aquarius (eastern door of the Temple sanctuary) and leads to liberation at the altar of the heart under the dominion of the Leo hierarchy. The lily of purity is held by the white-clad maiden in the Virgo panel. The learning and wisdom aspect of Mercury are designated by the library of books. The service aspect of Virgo is shown by the depiction of Mercury in the sixth house of the horoscopic wheel, the quote from Thessalonians on the blue scroll held by the two angels and the sheaves of ripe grain, representing the harvest of worldly deeds to be amalgamated into the soul body, which is represented by the window. The Libra panel depicts the hand of God depending the golden scales of Justice, whose two equally balanced trays are ruled by Saturn, governing cosmic Law, and Venus, dispensing Love and Mercy. Right relationships are ordered on these twin principles. Autumnal fields and forests share equal space with sky. The windmill denotes Libra as the cardinal air sign. Painted in 1920, before the discovery of Pluto (1930), this panel shows Mars as ruler and Uranus exalted, with the celestial Scorpion centered. The scene in color and content is similar to Pisces, a dusky, opaque light suffusing both murals. But here the contained water of a lake is represented, denoting Scorpio as a fixed water sign. A latent or brooding mood is projected. The Centaur's bow of aspiration is fully drawn and aimed at the lofty Jupiterian ideals radiating from the higher worlds. On the west coast of the United States, the Rosicrucian emblem shines as a beacon from the Fellowship's International Headquarters, generating an aurora of violet lights, signifying the global impact of the Western Wisdom Teachings. The celestial Goat and its associated planet, ringed Saturn, dominate a wintry landscape, which suggests the restriction and minimalism that these energies can effect. Mars is exalted in Capricorn, where its primal power is given form and order.