The Secrets Of The Magi Explored

There is such deep insight from the story of the coming of the Christ. The story of the Magi holds many interesting clues that have been explored through time. This is a talk about what those clues given may mean.

Transcript

There is a great depth in the mystery of the Magi.

I want to talk about the element of the magicians or masters as they were called in the Bible.

Magi are wise men there,

But often called in other ways,

In other places,

Magicians.

The people on earth who were aware in advance that the Christ was coming.

They were enlightened teachers,

Masters,

Who read the stars and believed enough to leave their homes and take this rather long,

Long journey to follow that star and find the Christ.

The Magi are the masters,

The magicians,

The ones who search for truth.

They are the seekers of the light and some say they were initiates of the highest order.

Perhaps that is the most underestimated realization of the story of the Christmas narrative.

These initiates were aware of the changes to come to earth with the birth of the Savior.

The wise men were indeed looking for signs.

There is such a wondrous element that is brought into this part of the Christmas story when we think about not just the star over Bethlehem,

But the star that was seen from so very far afar.

Hey,

There are astronomers who have studied this and really gone into the depths and found that one of the brightest stars of all times was shining and it shone for months and months before the birth of Christ.

The star was seen and followed by these masters,

These Magi,

These astronomers who saw the star and were called very strongly to follow it.

In the year 6 BC,

Mars joined with Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces.

In Roman mythology,

Mars was the god of war.

This sign may have led to the Magi to look into that and believe that there could be something coming.

The coming of the King of Jews would bring more prosperity,

But possibly also war.

Chinese records make note of a star that was visible for more than 70 days around that time.

The length of visibility indicates that it was a brilliant nova,

Which is a star that suddenly increases in brightness.

The Magi undoubtedly would have interpreted this bright new star in the heavens to mark the birth of a king or Christ.

Understandably,

This final sign would have started the Magi packing for Jerusalem.

In the story,

Melchior came from Persia,

Which is now Iran.

Gaspar came from India,

And that's also sometimes pronounced Casper.

Balthasar was from Arabia.

The term Magi is a Zoroastrian term,

And in the Bible it says some men from the east.

There may have been more than those three.

It's noted that they studied the stars and they also were considered to be kings who had very great wealth.

When the Magi appeared before King Herod in Jerusalem,

They asked,

Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?

We saw his star in the east and we have come to worship him.

Over the centuries,

Several theories have been proposed to explain that star,

Though a solitary star may have miraculously and spontaneously appeared.

It is interesting to consider that God might have been orchestrating the heavens over many centuries in order to communicate that unique message about Jesus.

It seems reasonable to believe that a combination of signs in the heaven,

Rather than just a solitary star,

Led the Magi in their long journey to Jerusalem and ultimately to Bethlehem,

Specifically seeking the king of the Jews.

Of course,

It was a prophecy and the ancient records and astronomy both helped to reconstruct the notion of the stars and planets over 2,

000 years ago.

But before examining some of the signs in the skies,

Let's review some of the terms and symbolism present in ancient times.

When we talk about that inner search for the light of that star,

Which is also that star of light within us,

We are also looking for how people reach that level of light in mastership or enlightenment as they are trying to figure out the path of light.

The masters are the ones who have served on this path for a long,

Long time,

And they are dedicated to serving the highest energy of God.

That's for the greater good of all,

And they are the ones who hold the door open to allow the symphony of the stars to speak to us,

To reach us,

To allow us to see that energy or star in all initiates.

There is an ancient proverb and saying that was passed along to teachers and masters that there is an initiate star,

A star of light over the head of all masters as well as those who have embodied the true spirit and overcome and gone past the second or third initiation.

For a moment,

Think about Mary.

You see Mary with a crown of stars.

So what would that imply?

She's the queen of heaven with a crown of stars.

Many have experienced that second initiation.

It's kind of the one which gets us started and excited about this metaphysical path,

But there are more initiations than just the second.

The third initiation is about getting past our initial initiation and on to the next level,

Which is where we can embody that Christ consciousness.

The Christ consciousness brings a level of perception that's able to maintain the higher frequencies of light,

Which enables us to be able to live and talk and walk as Christ did.

I've heard the term reader of the stars.

Have you heard that?

We can truly read the stars and I believe we can listen to the stars as well.

There's a symphony of the stars.

When we learn to hear and listen to that symphony,

We can align with its energy,

Its vibration and frequency that it holds.

When we align with that energy,

As I believe the Magi and Mary did,

We can be aligned with the universal energy that is the one with the masters who are able to understand and put us in tune with the creator.

Amazing symphonies have been written about the stars and the planets.

NASA has published the sounds emanating from various planets.

You might have heard it.

It's called NASA Voyager Space Sounds.

Its publisher states that although space is a virtual vacuum,

This does not mean there is no sound.

Sound exists in electromagnetic vibrations.

Sound exists in electromagnetic vibrations.

The specially designed instruments aboard the space probes were designed to pick up and record these electric magnetic variations and vibrations.

This information,

When sent back to Earth and decoded,

Can be heard as intriguing and beautiful sounds from space.

Perhaps it holds clues that might lead us to the real music of the spheres.

To me,

The sounds captured by NASA sound like frequencies or some rumbles of tones that are like a motor of sorts vibrating with cosmic energy.

The planets,

Of course,

Was a piece of creation,

A seven-movement orchestral suite by that wonderful English composer Gustav Holst.

It was written between 1914 and 1917.

In the last movement,

The wordless female chorus joins with the orchestra each movement of the suite is named after a planet in the solar system.

And it's supposed to have the feeling and musical energy of each astrological character.

That piece was interpretation of how planets influence us with sound.

Some have felt it could have been a movie soundtrack for a future sci-fi movie.

The planets do have influences that can make impressions upon our lives.

We're searching now for more than ever to understand how deep that pull from the stars can go.

Of course,

The movie 2001 Space Odyssey,

You might remember the intense sounds encountered as the obelisk was approached.

The sounds defined that unimpossible and undefinable energy.

And we're still searching for answers to mysteries that will possibly maybe never be understood,

But the influence is there still in very transformative ways.

We now have more interest in the stars than ever because the space travel and what's been experienced with the James Webb and Hubble telescope.

They've really sparked this wonderful expanded fascination in what is out there in the universe to discover.

And as we expand our awareness of the stars and the planets and beyond,

We will also need to evolve and learn how we can interact as a global community that can learn to be one in peace.

I just watched a movie called Arrival.

It was fascinating in the way a woman tried to understand how to communicate when there's no understanding of what each is saying.

And it had to be finally brought together where there could be a one world language.

Fascinating idea.

Now we know that music is a one world language,

Right?

I've always had this deep fascination with the stars.

Many of the words that I write and have written for this particular work was inspired by looking up at the stars.

I really think the stars can speak to us.

They are an important tool that can guide us on our path.

I also believe that many women have had the same curiosity and wonder about the stars.

They were not even given titles,

But they were often used to divine what may be happening.

Now the Magi represent the astronomers,

And they're a timeless representation of someone who's looking up at the stars and trying to figure out what's going on,

As scientists still do to this day.

So many wonderful mountaintops with these beautiful ways to search the stars for signs of life.

And they wonder,

As we have for thousands of years,

If there's any other life out there.

Is there any life in the distant universes that understand that we are here?

It even can communicate in some way.

There are always those such as Carl Sagan and others who find the wonder of the stars so drawing,

Magnetically energized with that idea.

We are evolving and beginning to realize the question,

How much or little we really know.

Perhaps we're not as wise as we would like to think we are.

Maybe there are beings out there that we have not yet discovered that can answer our questions and bring us more light and more wisdom.

There have been people who realized that the Magi were masters coming who had heard about the prophecy of the one who would bring heaven to earth,

The light that was held in that star.

There was a light so bright that could give these men this momentous event,

This prophecy,

Finally coming to earth to enlighten us that they decided to drop everything and follow that star.

When we get to that point,

We might say,

Oh,

We are followers of that star.

We are seeking the light.

And then we can actually at some point go,

Oh yes,

There is that star that we must find.

There is that light that is drawing us to the miracle of miracles.

There is indeed some moment of magic,

Wonder,

And transformation that comes when we attune to the cosmos.

Through the words shared in the piece Love Conquers All on the story of the star,

I express the scientific mind that happens at some point where it realizes the limitations of itself.

Many philosophers and scientists have come to that point,

That epiphany when the light shines through.

I believe that we were enlightened beings at other times that did.

Well,

This is only what we know now,

But perhaps there is more.

We now look back at Aristotle,

Galileo,

Giovanni Cassini,

Edmund Halley,

Sir William Herschel,

Sir Isaac Newton,

And more recently Albert Einstein and Wilhelmina Fleming,

Edwin Powell,

Hubble,

Right?

The last name Hubble?

Yeah,

You recognize where that comes,

Right?

And Stephen Hawking,

Of course.

There has been such a combined fabric of brilliance that has imagined what might be beyond our current understanding of the universe.

If we could open up our minds like Galileo and others did,

We might indeed be judged and persecuted as he and so many other enlightened thinkers were when they were brought to this idea that was beyond the old way of thinking.

They could be punished or killed as many brilliant minds throughout all time have,

But there is something in us that always is drawing us on,

Searching for that answer to unsolved questions,

That star of wonder.

In the story of the Magi in this book,

There's the pursuit of the enlightened or the realization of truth,

And it happens when we can really be open and open our minds to what the light beyond that light is.

What is the resonance of the mystical truth within?

It's a very important point in our awareness,

In our awakening,

In our spiritual consciousness,

When we see that amazing light within,

That inner light that somehow correlates to that light and the star of wonder,

That star in the east.

In the Bible,

It says,

After hearing about the king,

They went their way,

And the star which they had seen in the east went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the child was.

When they saw the star,

They realized and rejoiced exceedingly with boundless joy after coming up into the house.

They saw the child with Mary,

His mother,

And they fell to the ground and worshipped him.

Then opening their treasures,

They presented him with gifts of gold,

Frankincense,

And myrrh.

What is the symbolic meaning of that star?

The star guided the Magi.

It was assigned to be able to be seen by the shepherd at the side of the birth of Christ.

The symbolic and mystical meaning of the star has some very important inner symbolic meanings as well.

The five-pointed star is the sign of initiation.

There is that light of that higher energy over our heads.

I'm a Buddhist as well as a Christian.

It was Buddha who sat under the Bodhi tree and decided he was not going to move until he reached enlightenment.

And then he sat all night long and finally he saw the morning star and he became enlightened.

I go out every morning and stand under the stars and I call upon them.

I ask to bring that star's light down into my heart,

Into my soul.

Don't forget we're made of the stars.

There's a part of us that comes from the same elements that are in the stars.

And there is some way,

This recognition,

This echo within us that can relate to the stars.

We are having lucky stars watching over us.

And there's no mistake in the fact that the wise men and the shepherds saw that brilliant light of that star.

And it was indeed there at the birth of Christ.

It was the holy light coming down to earth in the form of a being.

It was the embodiment of that light,

That star becoming the living Christ.

It was the symbolism of the Magi's true understanding of what that light meant,

That light of the star,

The birth of the Christ.

Now what is the symbolism of the Magi gifts?

You know the three gifts had a spiritual as well practical meaning.

The wise men brought the gift of gold.

And we know about the alchemy,

Taking material things,

Lead,

And through energy of the highest light transforming them to gold.

Couldn't that affect our own transformation and be symbolic of taking the lower form of the material and bringing it to the highest golden light?

Gold is a symbol of divinity and it's mentioned throughout the Bible.

Pagan idols were often made from gold and the Ark of the Covenant was overlaid with gold.

The gift of gold to the Christ child was symbolic of his divinity,

His ability to transform lead into gold.

God in flesh,

God represents the concentration of the consciousness of the omnipresent richness of infinite substance with wise and rich ideas and bringing the form to the spirit with that.

Brankincense is a white resin or gum.

It's obtained from a tree by making incisions into the bark and allowing the gum to flow out.

It's very highly fragrant when burnt.

When breathing it in,

It says it,

There's a possible change of your consciousness and your mind can be lifted.

The gift of incense and frankincense is an intoxicating one.

If you go into a lot of the Greek Orthodox churches now,

Especially in Europe,

You'll see that they have these huge containers called thurables and they hang it from chains and they fill it with frankincense and they swing it back and forth and they are used to burn frankincense on coals and then the smoke rises as a prayer to God.

Frankincense was one of the richest of all perfumes.

It's still burned throughout the Catholic churches around the world today.

It represents the transmutation of material things to spiritual essence.

Now,

Myrrh is also very interesting.

It represents the power of love.

Did you know that God told Moses to go take myrrh and anoint all of the instruments used in worship at the tabernacle.

Now,

There's an anointing that takes place in Christ.

Christ is meaning the anointed one.

Did you know that?

It's also a symbol associated with the product of Arabia and it's obtained from a tree in the same manner as frankincense is.

It's a spice and it was used to embalm people as well.

It was also sometimes mingled with wine to form a special drink and the drink was given to our Savior when he was about to be crucified as a stupefying potion.

Myrrh symbolizes bitterness,

Suffering,

And affliction.

The baby Jesus would grow to suffer greatly as a man and he would pay the ultimate price when he gave his life on the cross for all who would believe in him.

Christ laid down love is the highest of all laws and the Magi brought gifts that recognize that.

In our own being,

We can worship that amazing moment and bow to that light,

The inner realization of oneness with the formless,

With the infinite,

With the cosmic spirit,

With the God within.

In our own way,

We lay down our treasures before our soul,

Our mind,

And our spirit.

Those very precious gifts of gold we honor with the light of our soul,

With frankincense,

Which represents our spirit,

And the myrrh,

Which represents our physicality,

And we surrender and offer that all up to the truth of truth.

We sense this with our representation of the Magi,

Often seeking enlightenment as they seem to be transformed when they realize that this is that one light of all.

They recognize there is this Christ light and that it would change the world.

This is the birth of Christ,

The merging of that star and the heavens coming to earth.

The Magi find in this special birth a birth that happens within them as well,

Because when you go inside and find that place,

That rebirth,

That place within,

You can also get to that point where you can be reborn.

This birth of the Christ is emerging of the heavens coming to earth.

In this birth,

You find that inner Christ child within yourself.

As you remember in the story,

They bow before the Christ child and they realize this is going to change the world.

The earth and humanity will be changed forever with this birth.

I think about my father who was into higher calculus and he'd work tirelessly in his calculations at night.

I have memories of him spending hours trying to figure out if one of Einstein's theories were true.

I'd sit in his office on the couch not knowing what he was working on.

Kind of like a mad scientist there.

I didn't know he was trying to figure out this big theory,

The Einstein's theory,

If it was true or not.

I knew that he was searching for answers.

I could see his mind working hard,

Trying to figure it all out.

The interesting thing is our minds and the Magi that represents the minds trying to figure out the higher calculus,

The astronomers trying to figure out the stars,

Only can get you to a certain point.

At some point,

You surrender and find the answers indeed are elusive if you're just using your mind.

It's beyond higher calculus.

If you're seeking a rebirth or enlightenment or the magic that the Magi's journey was happening seeking that enlightenment and that answers,

You have to go beyond just your mental outlook.

You have to find the answers in your heart of hearts and in your soul.

You have to go beyond the calculations and realize there is more to these calculations than what we may ever be able to find in our particular time.

It takes a lot of time to figure out the universe and we have a divine connection in us that can help lead us to the answers that are held in the stars.

It's that light within our spark and the stardust of our souls.

My mother Peg used to say to me,

You are a star child.

I remember her telling this to me often when I was just a few years old.

She knew and she believed in that simple and profound truth.

And after all the years,

I still feel the calling of the stars.

There are times I wish I were there on some distant star that it's my real home.

I feel there are stars that know these deep connections that we hold.

Far from them trying to be figured out by geometric calculus or any kind of mental calculation,

There's this soul connection.

I sometimes think about that last line in the movie The Misfits.

Do you remember that amazing movie?

And they're sitting in the truck.

It's Meryl Monroe's second to last movie and it was the last movie for Clark Gable.

And they're sitting in the seat there and Meryl Monroe says,

How do you find your way home?

And Clark Gable says,

Follow that star.

It will lead you home.

Well,

That's an amazing thing to happen in a cowboy movie,

Right?

Well,

You know,

It's more than that.

That inner math that is the math of the higher mental planes is coming to us through music,

Which is captured in the music that Stephen created for Love Conquers All.

The spoken word part of this brings in the questions of the mind and then the wonder of finding what is behind that secret of all of creation.

May you always find that path.

May you always find that star that will lead you home.

That light of light is there and that inner light within Christ Consciousness that transforms you.