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In the first lesson, we got to know Job as one of the most righteous, wealthy, and successful men in antiquity, an Edomite sheik. Yet, with all his earth plane knowledge, Job is not spiritually enlightened. He views life through his intellect, with a worldview that includes the physical plane only. Job is each of us, before we consciously embark on our initiatory process. Should we meet him on the street, we would be impressed with his goodness and material success.

At some point in all of our lives, our soul's urging to move forward on our spiritual path begins to break through our conscious awareness. The break-through is often misinterpreted because it tends to come in the form of a major trauma, such as illness or loss of job, property, or loved one. Our initial response may be one of frustration: "Things were going so well. Why did this have to happen and ruin everything?" Or, one of anger at God: "What have I done to deserve this? How can God be so cruel?" Heretofore, we have either settled for the status quo or been content with it. Because we have not consciously sought spiritual maturity, the break-through shakes us to the core. We react as if the physical plane is all there is, as if our physical body is all we are. Like Job, bewilderment consumes us.

Job has accomplished physical plane success. He is highly respected in the land of Uz among those who know God solely through the rituals of their religion. The clue that things are not as good as their surface appearance would indicate is that Job is fearful. Job worries that all is not well with his children. Recall from the first lesson: a metaphysical interpretation views Job's children as representing parts of his personality. In other words, Job is fearful because he senses all is not well within himself. His soul is urging him forward. He responds in the only way he knows how: he daily offers sacrifices for his children, in order to beseech God's forgiveness of any wrongdoing. Job is following the religious training he has received. That this training has been off-the-mark is made known by Job's fear of what God will do to punish his perceived wrongdoing. Job does not know God loves him unconditionally; he does not know that perfect love of God casts out all fear.²⁴ Job does not know that worry magnetizes the very thing he fears. Job is spiritually asleep. He is simply following-by rote-the laws of his formalistic religion. Job's location on the spiritual path resembles the position of the majority of people on our planet.

We view life only through our physical plane eyes. The inner world of Spirit is a foreign concept. That we possess seven bodies instead of one is a hidden fact. That we are connected, via these seven bodies, to the seven planes of existence is not even suspected. Job, and we, know only a tiny fraction of life.

The initiatory process, through which each of us must journey, leads us into conscious awareness of all that is. We develop attunement to the seven planes of existence. We become Self-realized, God-realized. Self-realization means we comprehend that we are God. Although the initiatory process can involve many different paths, the end result is the same. We achieve conscious control over our physical, emotional, and mental bodies. Mastering the lower self constitutes our crucifixion initiation and results in resurrection into oneness with the God Presence (or I AM PRESENCE) within each of us.²⁵

Our study of Job will unveil the broad path of initiation. In order to intuit this process, we must look beneath the surface words of the book of Job and discover the hidden wisdom. I believe the Bible is alive; that it was and is being written by cosmic beings; that its structure is cosmic and ever-evolving in ways we cannot perceive with our finite mind. The more we delve beneath the surface, the more secreted meaning we find. This search for hidden wisdom is a part of our initiatory process; it is revealed to those individuals who will use it in accordance with Divine Love. Once we embark on our own search for Truth, we set in motion preparation for the 1^st initiation, the birth of the Christ Spirit (or Divine Love) within ourselves.

By the use of two formulas, the Prologue of Job²⁶ signals to us to seek the veiled meaning within the Book of Job.

The first formula is found in Chapter 1. Here, we find the fourfold formula depicting a servant delivering the bad news to Job as he states: "I only escaped to inform you."²⁷ The world is not screaming to Job that it is time to move forward on his spiritual path. A single voice has escaped the earth plane attachments that bind Job to physical plane consciousness-the voice of his soul. Job's soul informs him that a transformation process is on the horizon. Many of us have experienced this urging of the soul. We yearn to make a change in our lives; yet, hesitate to do so. We repeatedly ignore the still, small voice²⁸ of our soul. It is only when a traumatic event finally erupts, that we reluctantly acquiesce.

The second formula is found in chapters 1 & 2. Here, we find the stage setting of the heavenly council and the exchange between God and Satan. This scenario depicts our God of love as an uncaring, flippant God that willingly makes cruel wagers with Job's life. The words literally shout, "Look for the hidden wisdom. A God of unconditional Love cannot behave in this manner!"

As we learned in the 1^st lesson, Satan is one of the sons of God.²⁹ In soul-centered astrology, Satan is known as the planet Saturn. Saturn is in charge of the first three initiations. Once the activity of Saturn is activated in our lives, we embark on the path of initiation. This fatherly being, the Dweller on the Threshold to higher consciousness, teaches us self-discipline and the laws of manifestation. Remember, every part of creation is living and interconnected within the Whole. We know Saturn as a barren planet. That is all we see when we peer into a telescope with our physical eyes and pass judgment with our intellectual minds. Neither the physical eye nor our intellect can lead us to Truth. It is only as our spiritual eye (the third eye chakra) and our intuitive mind are activated that we begin to know Truth. Saturn, as a loving son of God, directs us onto the path of self-discovery and Self-realization. The more intentionally we cooperate with Saturn's lessons of self-discipline, the less traumatic the events in our lives will be.

Job has been unresponsive to his soul's urging for spiritual growth. Instead, he simply blames God for taking away what He had given him. Job reacts to the traumatic events in his life as if he had nothing to do with their cause. The truth is, Job magnetized what he feared would happen. When Job responds to loss saying, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord,"³⁰ he is removing himself from any responsibility for his own thoughts and actions. He is stuck in his formalistic religious interpretation of innocent victim-hood. Job is not yet ready to consciously seek Truth. Likewise, in today's world, people often affirm mistakenly, "God can do anything God wants to and we are helpless to stop Him."

Once more, God and Satan evaluate Job's progress. Regardless of the consequences, Job continues to hold his status quo religious beliefs. He "reveres God and turns away from evil. He still holds fast to his integrity."³¹ Being religious and moralistic is not enough. Job has not awakened spiritually. Another traumatic event befalls him. Job develops a disease of the skin. This time, Job's wife encourages him to curse God. Although fury would be a more honest reaction, Job again responds with a mixture of praise and blame for God. "We have indeed received God's blessings, now shall we not also receive his afflictions?"³² Job still considers himself to be the innocent victim of a viciously playful God. He is not honest with his own feelings, nor does he comprehend the true nature of God. If we read the surface words of the Prologue, we find Job depicted as far more trustworthy and compassionate than God.

This incongruence between God's unpredictable nature and the innocent long-suffering of human beings-who revere God-is typical of a philosophy that has not yet touched upon Truth. "Why do good people suffer?" is an age-old question. We have to seek in order to find that we suffer because we do not remember Truth. A Truth response is: "We reap what we sow."³³ Universal law gives when we plant seeds of giving. It takes away when we worry and fear because we are reaping the fearful circumstances we have sown.

Job's wife remains by his side. His wife represents his feminine nature, the part of himself that feels and intuits, the receptive side of his humanity. With all of his external symbols of wealth and prestige gone, Job is now in a position to receive from his inner being. Three friends appear and sit with him in silence for seven days and seven nights.

In order to personalize this lesson, go to the Book Archives and click on INTRODUCTION TO THE APPENDIXES . read the instructions, then scroll down to Appendix # 2 entitled SATURN IN THE TWELVE NATAL CHART HOUSES. Look for the house relating to you and determine the ways in which Saturn is leading you onto the Path of Initiation.

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24 I John 4:18.

25 Bailey.  From Bethlehem 206.

26 The Prologue of Job = the prose narrative making up the first two chapters of the Book of Job.

27 Job 1:15b.

28 I Kings 19:12b.

29 Job 1:6.

30 Job 1:21b.

31 Job 2:3.

32 Job 2:10.

33 Galatians 6:7.