Easter Above, Easter Below –Part II

The Last Supper, by Leonardo Da Vinci (1490)

We arrive to Holy Thursday, which starts with the act of "washing of the feet" performed by Jesus on his disciples, before the Last Supper. This ritual was widespread in the East, but was usually done by servants. With it Jesus exemplified his teaching:

If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet (John 13: 14). On one hand he emphasizes the central message that he communicates later: A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another (John 13: 34). On the other hand, this refers to a very important aspect, namely, the need to help one another to see and overcome our weaknesses in the inner journey, "washing each other’s dirt".

In ancient Egypt this ritual of “washing the feet” had a purifying character, and it was performed on the Pharao, in the context of “preparation for death”. The aspirant must leave all earthly burdens behind before dying:

The King says: I have bathed with Ra [the Sun] on the Lake of junks. The priest replies: Horus [son of the Sun] has purified your flesh, O king; Thoth has washed your feet, oh Shu lift the King up, oh Nut give your hand to the King (Pyramid Text 519).

The final announcement of death in our story happens after this ritual. Jesus and the twelve sit around the table and as they did eat, he said: Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me (Matthew 26: 21). We should already guess what that means, after what was pointed yesterday. But in order to make the journey even more exciting, let´s pay attention to the famous painting of Da Vinci, above. As one would expect, this advanced man knew the ancient Wisdom and left no room for doubt. If we look at the picture we will notice that the disciples are grouped into four trios, one for each season. And paying more attention we see that each one mirrors the main characteristics of the a zodiacal sign. Here we have some clues, the rest, for the seeker. In Wikipedia it is possible to observe each zone in detail:

Starting from left to right, we have the three signs of Spring. What’s the colour of that distinctive garment worn by the apostle over the blue one? Isn´t it reminiscent of a Shepherd’s clothing? May the form of the banquette’s paw, down on the left, be an allusion to the Ram? 

The next apostle seems to have a disproportionate neck and his right hand is resting on a shoulder. Coincidentally, neck and shoulders are associated with Taurus, the sign of Leonardo Da Vinci himself, that even resembles the apostle of the picture.

Thirdly we see someone whose hands seem to reflect the duality and complementarity of male and female. Which sign comes after Taurus?

Now the Summer group, which we mentioned yesterday. Isn´t it strange the posture in which the apostle holds the knife with his right hand? Does the knife look like a crab’s paw? Perhaps, and what’s more, if it were placed under the left hand, both hands would be almost like the famous inclined 69, characteristic of Cancer. And what can be said about the left hand of the apostle that is in front? Does it not seem like a claw? And he is looking at what appears to be a ...woman? Who is she?

To the left of Jesus we have the groups of Autumn and Winter, but we now leave curiosity do the rest and focus on the supper:

During the meal Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: Take, eat, this is my body. And he took a cup and giving thanks: Drink ye all ... (Matthew Chapter 26).

Bread and wine. A frugal meal with several meanings. Which one fits into the astro-theological context?

In order to understand the cycles of the sun in tune with the zodiacal signs we should remember the seasonal stages, which are less known today, because people buy in supermarkets and children begin to believe that vegetables are manufactured by a man in blue uniform behind a refrigerating chamber full of boxes or that bread comes from plastic bags. 

Formerly everyone knew that Summer is the harvest season, associated with the Mother, known as Demeter or Virgin. And Virgo precedes Libra, the Balance, which marks not only a "Final Judgement", but it is the House of the Sun on September, the Wine season. In Spain and Italy some people know this well because there is a good tradition of wine.

Libra marks the beginning of the Autumnal Equinox, the point in which the Sun "descends" into Darkness and the days get shorter and shorter, and the Autumnal leaves of the trees turn red; red like Wine, like the sea Moses "crossed" with his fellow Hebrews. In other words, the Water that Aquarius and Pisces brought for the Spring of Aries is “miraculously” transformed into Wine, as Jesus did in the wedding at Cana, after his Mother said there was no wine (John II). 

At this point Helios seems sold out. It is thus comprehensible that Jesus was betrayed by Judas and delivered to the Romans, for the price of... how many silver coins?, how many degrees ocuppy each Zodiacal sign? Dividing 360º ​​by 12 we get the answer.

Of course, this is just a "level of interpretation", beyond the literal one. To remain here is to understand nothing, for Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. We need to delve into the "psycho-spiritual" level as well because each seeker is called to become a solar hero, and thus participate in Solar Consciousness or Christ. This also means that in life the traveller is also “betrayed by the selfish passions” and the "donkey-mind", and have to experience “falls”, like the sun does every year. But the hero falls seven times and stands up eight. In the upcoming articles we will continue investigating that, as well as the possible clues that may indicate the existence of a historical Jesus, or at least someone who later received such an appellative.