A Child Is Born

Everyone is aware of the literal interpretation of the Birth of Jesus. Joseph's wife Mary was with child and they were unable to find lodging so that she could give birth. Fortunately, they found a stable and Mary was able to deliver her child amidst the filth of the natural earth.

Three Wise Men came from the East, following the light of a star. They brought to the babe gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They also brought a warning to the parents of the child. King Herod had charged them to look for the "newborn king", and report back to him when found. Herod intended to kill the babe, who he thought was a threat to his earthly throne.

Okay, that's the literal interpretation. Now for the esoteric interpretation.

The Child that is being born is representative of the awakening of one's Divine Spark. The Child is an allegory for the Rose of the Heart. The stable, or cave, represents the "cave" of the human heart in its polluted state, submerged in the natural world. The natural world is represented by the stone walls of the cave (mineral kingdom), the presence of straw or hay (plant kingdom), the beasts kept there (animal kingdom) and earth-born humanity (the shepherds).

The gifts of the Magi - or Wise Men - are interpreted as follows: gold, the symbol of nobility; frankincense, the symbol of the wisdom of the sage; and myrrh, the symbol of dominion and power. These are the attributes of the Original Divine Human-Being, the True Man, the "Other One" that will be reborn within the microcosm if the candidate faithfully follows the Path of Return and diligently grows in the Gnosis.

King Herod represents the aeons of this nature. They are aware of this Birth, this Awakening, because there is an immediate disturbance in the astral field of the Candidate. The Divine part of the personality has started to make its presence known. Without hesitation, the agents of the aeons rush to oust this foreign body from the system of the Candidate. They are charged with extinguishing the Divine Spark before it has an opportunity to set up a stronghold in the personality. To Herod, this child-king is a threat to his own earthly power. However, this newborn king has no intention of ruling over the physical earth. Its kingdom is not of this world.

Mercifully warned, the Child is spirited away as the family flees into Egypt. In the Holy Language, Egypt represents the hermetic land, the land of the hierophant and the alchemical process (the ancient name for Egypt was "Khem"). Here, the child will be protected and nurtured, safely hidden away from Herod's soldiers.

Finally, this Child is the Divine Child that can and must be born within the hearts of each one of us. The symbolism has been placed in the New Testament for your benefit, to enable you to realize that the Universal Brotherhood is with us always, has never abandoned us, and has for us - in symbol and allegory - a trail of instructions to follow as we seek to bring the Child, the Other One, to full maturity.

Hark, the herald angels sing: "Glory to the newborn King".

~ g
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