Sabian Trines

By Bek Lui

Know who you are and the energy at play within you and others. This book invites you to examine yourself and others within the context of the 360 Sabian symbols, resolved into 120 vignettes of human experience, incorporating dream theory, Voice Dialogue psychology, faith-based symbolism and personal anecdotes. For both beginners and those familiar to Sabian symbols.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bek Lui
• Release date: Jan 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215472903

Bek Lui

Welcome!I am a philosopher and the Sabian Symbols intrigue me, as part of many lines of enquiry about our existence. I believe that astrology as a form of personal development helps us have compassion for ourselves and others.

Book preview

Sabian Trines

by Bek Lui

Copyright 2024 Bek Lui

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Front cover image is a cropped derivative of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) observatory at Paranal by the European Southern Observatory/Y. Beletsky used under, and licensed under,

CC Attribution 4.0 International by Bek Lui.

Other Books by Bek Lui:

Crosses of the Sabian Symbols: Loosen the Energy of your Astrology

Add your experience to Astronarrative.com

Table of Contents

Preface

Gemini-Libra-Aquarius Trines

Aries-Leo-Sagittarius Trines

Cancer-Scorpio-Pisces Trines

Taurus-Virgo-Capricorn Trines

About the Author

Preface

My intention is to explore the Sabian symbols as dynamic energies, as if our human bodies were like antennas that receive, transmit and transmute these energies. The idea of grouping trines —symbols at 120 degrees from each other—appealed to me as a creative writing challenge and for the energy options the trines offer. Writing vignettes provides the option to view a particular symbol as dynamic rather than static, where the symbol is just one point in a journey of life experience.  This aligns with my understanding of a Buddhist view of non-attachment to illusion, so a symbol is one facet of many perspectives, or a point in a journey, or an option within a theme, giving you flexibility in how you perceive a symbol.  I don’t believe we should attach ourselves to any specific symbol but to use energy as creatively as we can.  Energy wants to flow; nothing is permanent; we are meant to grow and learn as a soul.

Having alternate perspectives aids emotional healing. This collection is simply an expression of my own perspectives incorporating many various philosophies and theories. As I live my life, my understanding of these energies gets richer and deeper, changing even as I publish this. I encourage you to use this merely as a springboard for your own exploration, or better yet, to disagree where you have a more compelling personal perspective. I am also aware of my own defined cultural provenance, and hope that you, reader, do not let this impose itself on you. Feel free to reinterpret to suit your circumstances and background. Further, while I hope this book helps you, I also hope that you also outgrow it at some stage in your personal exploration. We are meant to keep moving. Astrology has its limits—surely there are more than 360 energies (and the combinations of them), for a start.

I used the original hand-written symbols as photocopied in Diana E. Roche’s The Sabian Symbols: A Screen of Prophecy.  That way I am faithful to the images that Elsie Wheeler channeled in 1925.  Interpretations may change but the symbols themselves are the plain basis upon which we build stories.  I have put some symbols into the context of Elsie Wheelers life—the United States of America in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

I did not set out to analyse and research the symbols exhaustively; but to understand myself and others.  There are many websites and books that try to describe the meaning of individual symbols, and the meanings are inexhaustible.  In comparison, this book is limited in scope, and I invite you to add your experience to the Astronarrative.com project. I wish you much illumination.

GEMINI-LIBRA-AQUARIUS TRINES

Gemini-Libra-Aquarius 00-01

Gemini 00-01 A Glass-Bottomed Boat In Still Water.

Libra 00-01 A Butterfly Made Perfect By A Dart Through It.

Aquarius 00-01 An Old Adobe Mission.

The Old Adobe Mission was a church in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, that became a building for religious classes and organisations such as boy scouts and the Scottsdale Symphony Orchestra. It was built by the Mexican community to serve the community.

The stillness in all three images—Libra’s preserved butterfly, Gemini’s water, and Aquarius’ building (rather than the community that evolves, learns, or sits in prayerful peace within its walls) provide part of the structure with which to Perceive (Gemini’s sea bottom and Libra’s beauty), Preserve (Libra’s butterfly or Aquarius’ community values) or Achieve a vision (Aquarius’ church for the community, Libra’s perfection).

In all three images, the requirement of a physical stillness is important, however temporary—from most temporary in Gemini, to a slow decay in Libra, and more permanent in Aquarius) and evoke a space of peacefulness.

Gemini-Libra-Aquarius 01-02

Gemini 01-02 Santa Clause Filling Stockings Furtively.

Libra 01-02 The Light Of The Sixth Race Transmuted To The Seventh.

Aquarius 01-02 An Unexpected Thunderstorm.

No good deed goes unpunished! Gemini’s Santa wants to make a difference but Aquarius’s thunder forces Gemini’s subterfuge. A gift given to some (Libra), may disappoint others (Aquarius). Saint Nicholas, on whom the myth of Santa is based, did indeed spend time in jail for his views, but his spirit of generosity lives on.

This trine describes how we avoid other people’s disapproval to help those in need. This disapproval highlights a tribal divide (economic, class, race, merits; anything that creates a mentality that one group ‘deserves’ more than another). Therefore, Santa prefers being generous without the attention. Does the gift (Gemini) cause a real societal disruption or evolutionary change (Libra), hence the reaction (Aquarius)? This trine also has shades of the myth of Prometheus stealing fire for humans and accelerating civilisation, for which the gods punished him.

A modern analogy is Napster—the pirated music, available digitally, gave artists more creative opportunities, angering the record companies who usually exploited their artists. The result wrested artistic control from the record companies, as musicians have more direct platforms to engage with their fans. Napster was reviled, but it helped free music from an old economic machine.

What are thunderstorms but a release of energy, a loud sound that passes, a bark and not a bite. The thunderstorm means that change is afoot: that Santa’s actions threaten the status quo that would keep Libra’s light stuck, and that those who seem to hold power, will soon hold very little.

In the context of the journey of self, we must understand our multitude of inner selves, and that parts of us may resist our growth. Face Gemini’s ‘gift’ in your shadows, have Aquarius’ tantrum and berate yourself for it, but you nonetheless evolve like Libra anyway.

Gemini-Libra-Aquarius 02-03

Gemini 02-03 The Garden Of The Tuileries.

Libra 02-03 The Dawn Of A New Day, Everything Changed.

Aquarius 02-03 A Deserter From The Navy.

Gemini’s Garden of the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France, is a highly manicured and formally laid out garden with open access to the public.  It was designed to have a central axis from the western Tuileries Palace facade and extended further west with an emphasis on order and long perspectives.

The Navy is also highly structured; a sea-going military that has strict rules and discipline to maintain its service to a country. Both Gemini’s garden and Aquarius’ Navy serve the public. Aquarius’ deserter refuses the Navy’s service and rules, and here connects with Libra’s new day, a new life. Absent a desire for sea life, the deserter perceives life on land as a lovely royal garden. Perhaps the trine embodies in one person—someone who leaves the Navy (Aquarius), but who as a civilian (Libra) cannot shift from old habits, enjoying order and formality such as in Gemini’s neat garden of ‘greener grass’.

Gemini-Libra-Aquarius 03-04

Gemini 03-04 Holly And Mistletoe.

Libra 03-04 A Group Around A Campfire.

Aquarius 03-04 A Hindu Healer.

Gemini’s holly and mistletoe are like the perfect odd couple. Holly holds its thorny, barbed leaf in protection around its alluring red berry (its own contradiction). Mistletoe, considered parasitic (as it takes water and nutrients from a host plant, stunting or killing it with heavy infestation) and a known toxin, culturally signifies fertility and love (kissing under the mistletoe at Christmas). Yet both holly and mistletoe are associated with Christmas: joy, togetherness, and generosity. With all this metaphor for our internal and external contradictions, projections and conflicts, how do we achieve harmony? Well, harmony already exists. Thorny, protective holly also represents boundaries, and mistletoe parasitism is the lesson for the lack of boundaries.

Note, however, that some types of mistletoe act as keystone species that foster ecological diversity. There is good and bad in everything. Every aspect of ourselves is a useful tool for a specific situation, if we are flexible in our personalities to achieve situational leadership (a capacity to bring forth different parts of the self to deal with what life throws at you).

Libra’s campfire group symbol implies camaraderie, warmth and belonging. Aquarius’ Hindu healer brings the inner conflict into acceptance, through self-acknowledgement, learning, critical thinking and debate about faith and lifestyle. Hinduism has diversity of ideas, but no governing order or authority, with many choices about dharma—the way of life, eternal law, and duty. There may be no conclusion at the end of the fireside chat, with all the different personalities bringing valid perspectives, but there is at least tolerance and acceptance (tolerance and acceptance being steps on the path of harmony and love). May we continue doing that work.

Gemini-Libra-Aquarius 04-05

Gemini 04-05 A Radical Magazine.

Libra 04-05 A Man Teaching The True Inner Knowledge.

Aquarius 04-05 A Council Of Ancestors.

This trine emphasises different solutions to pain. New beliefs challenge old beliefs, and the work requires scrutinizing all sets to see which are useful to hold or discard. Can we discard cherished beliefs and verify the source and credibility of the new ones to take their place?

Sometimes we access truth ahead of its time (Gemini) that other people are unprepared to hear. Sometimes we seek the counsel of a wise and deeply spiritual person (Libra), or an elder family member (Aquarius) alive or in spirit, for their experiences became wisdom. When in great pain or struggling, we choose the source of solace to our anguish.

Gemini’s radical magazine takes pain, interprets it to find the societal cause and turns it into revolutionary ideas, empowering a societal class to demand political change. Libra’s solution is a mentor who teaches us about our response (the suffering) and enlightens with understanding. The change comes from within to make empowering choices about our lives.

Aquarius’ ancestors make the tribe a source of solace—our support by those who have walked the paths before—and they can tell you decisions they made, the outcomes, and lessons learned. And more, they know you better than you know yourself. They have been you. But of course, the work is that you must know yourself.

With all the sources of ideas and solutions available, the trine shows that if society imposes crazy-making beliefs and creates suffering due to poor alignment of values, this trine seeks to address it. Of course, the shadow of these is misguidance. Gemini’s impractical and fervent disruption by ideology’s grip is also crazy-making; Libra’s guru could be a charismatic, hypnotic