The Message of Aquaria:
The Significance and Mission of the Aquarian Age
by F. Homer Curtiss and Harriette Curtiss
F. Homer Curtiss and Harriette Curtiss
Harriette Augusta Curtiss, co-founder of The Order of Christian Mystics and later the Universal Religious Foundation, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1856. Her parents were John Horace Brown, organizer of the Pennsylvania State Teachers' Association and Emma Brightly Brown. Curtiss received a cultured education and developed into a talented musician and actress. After starring in a number of amateur theatrical productions she had the opportunity to become a professional, but her mother dissuaded her from doing so. She therefore put her writing talents to use for many years, authoring a column for the Philadelphia Inquirer under the pen name "The Bachelor Girl."
As the years passed, Curtiss found herself to be a gifted clairvoyant, developing a direct contact with that ascended teacher known as Madame Blavatsky and eventually launched a career in the realm of mysticism.
In 1907 she married Dr Frank Homer Curtiss, and together they began working as occult teachers and writers. In the year of their marriage they founded The Order of the 15, which in 1908 became known as The Order of Christian Mystics. Harriette, who became known within the order as Rahmea, assumed the role of teacher, and her husband took the position of secretary (and was known by his order name of Pyrahmos). They worked together to prepare material for publication, though Harriette was the primary author. Throughout the rest of her life, she issued monthly lessons for students.
The Curtisses produced more than 27 books and publications.
The Message of Aquaria. The Significance and Mission of the Aquarian Age
“Truth is eternal and everlasting. That which was, is, and forever shall be; manifest variously as it may. “
Not a sequel to The Voice of Isis, but rather a response to the urgent call for further and more advanced instruction concerning the great unrest in world conditions, and their solution. Also contains a reasonable and scientific explanation of how and when and to whom the Son of Man will appear at the Second Coming.
The only satisfactory exposition of this subject. As the new Aquarian Age, so long foretold, dawns for humanity, the outbreathing of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, again speaks, and in no uncertain tones, to all children who recognize Her, and proclaims to them:
"Behold, it is I. Be not afraid!" at the ushering in of this Aquarian Age She comes under the name of Aquaria.
And, true to the promise of Jesus, She brings to our remembrance all that He has told us concerning the New Dispensation when there "Shall appear the sign of the Son of Man (the sign of Aquarius) in heaven."
“One of the mightiest of truths is the mystical meaning of that which is inculcated in the universal teachings as to the Divine Mother.”
In this article I cover PARTS in THE CURTISS BOOK THE MESSAGE OF AQUARIA
- CHAPTER 1 / THE MYSTIC LIFE
- CHAPTER 2 / THE SIGN OF AQUARIUS
- CHAPTER 3 / ARE THESE THE LAST DAYS?
CHAPTER 2 / THE SIGN OF AQUARIUS
“And then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn…
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
- St. Matthew, XXIV, 30, 31
As we enter into the great Aquarian Cycle, in spite of the confusion and unrest which the adjusting and closing of the old cycle (Piscean) and its overlapping on the next brings to all nations, we cannot help feeling the mighty stirring of a new and greater day which all classes of mankind are sensing more or less clearly and seeking to understand and define. We say in a general way that this is the Aquarian Age, but having said it, few besides special students are much further enlightened.
We therefore wish to point out in this Message of Aquaria the significance of some of the more important phases of the sign Aquarius and the age.
“As the earth, in its yearly journey around the Sun, passes through a sign of the zodiac each month, so does our solar system, during its great journey around the Central Sun of this universe (Alcyone), pass through each sign of the zodiac; but in this greater cycle, instead of a month, our solar system requires approximately 2160 years to traverse each sign.”
This period is called a Day or an Age.
Thus we have had the Taurian Age when the vernal equinox of the Sun appeared in the sign Taurus, at the close of which occurred the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt and during which the Bull or Calf was the object of worship and was represented with the golden disk of the Sun between its horns; the Arian Age, during which the Ram was worshipped as the symbol of the Sun-god; the Piscean Age, whose symbol of the Fish was the symbol of its Great Teacher, Jesus, the disciples of whom were all represented as fishermen and called “fishers of men.”
And our solar system has recently entered the sign Aquarius or “the Sign of the Son of Man in Heaven,”
refereed to in the New Testament as the time of the New Dispensation or Age.”
In the Bible the sign of Aquarius is called the Sign of the Son of Man, and in astrology the Water Bearer, and is represented by a man emptying a water pot. The sign Aquarius is the eleventh sign of the zodiac, and kabalistically its numerical value is also eleven.
As is explained fully under that number, eleven symbolizes the first step in a new cycle; a new condition or undertaking.
And as the Aquarian Age dawns our Earth and its humanity is preparing to take a new step, to enter into new cosmic fields, gain new experiences and outline the great discoveries to be brought forth in the generations yet to come.
Aquarius is an airy (emotional) sign and marks the middle of the winter season (Jan. 20-Feb 19).
As the winter season is the middle of the darkest period of the year, yet is also the prelude to the springtime, so will this first step into the New Age mark the middle of the darkest period for humanity and the prelude to the joy and beauty of the new cycle which it ushers in.
In itself the cycle of the Aquarian Age will be marked by its four seasons, just as is the cycle of the year.
Aquarius is now one of the fixed signs and occupies the upper right hand or dominating point of the fixed cross, composed of the four signs, Aquarius, Leo, Taurus and Scorpio, which in earlier ages formed the cardinal cross.
From an occult and mystical standpoint this fixed cross is of the greatest importance, and is called the Foundation of the Universe, the Four Corners of Earth, the Four Winds and the Four Breaths.
In fact, not only are the signs at the ends of this cross looked upon by astrologers, occultists and mystics as of great importance, but we find many allusions to them in the Bible.
For instance, the “wheels” of Ezekiel are none other than these signs in motion. He describes them as coming out of a cloud as follows; “Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
“Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”
The four winds or Divine Breath are the four aspects of the Divine Life Spirit manifesting through these four signs and when they are focused upon humanity, even tho humanity spiritually be but a valley of dry bones, the dry bones shall arise and become a mighty army for the Lord.
♒︎ As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion ♌︎ the face of an ox ♉︎ the face of an eagle ♏︎.
Yet they were all blended into and expressed through the likeness of a man, hence Aquarius, the Man, must synthesize these forces.
The same figures are also described by St. John in Revelation.
There are many other similar allusions in the Bible, but all go to show that there is some important significance attached to the figures on this fixed cross and some mystical potency to be attained through understanding and correlating with these four signs, which will give us a firm foundation on which to erect the temple of our spiritual life.
The sign Aquarius is “the sign of the son go Man in heaven,” hence we find the Man dominating the cross.
This is not the lower, personal man, but the Man who can dominate, indrawn, and transmute all the lower potencies; the Man who must master the dual sign Scorpio, which in its lower aspect is the scorpion,
“An adder in the path, that bitter the horse’s heels, so that his rider shall fall backward,”
- the lower aspects of the scorpion (sex) blunt man’s understanding and make him fall backward or make man, instead of being a rider who controls and directs his thoughts, fall backward into the mire and wallow under the horse’s feet.
The Aquarian Man, however, must lift up this force until it becomes the Eagle which brings forth its young upon the mountain top and soars into the very eye of the Sun.
He must also conquer his heart and tame it, turning it from a raging beast that devours all into a docile and obedient servant.
In other words, he must have the strength of a Samson to open its jaws, render it harmless and find in its carcass the honey of wisdom.
He must conquer the lower nature, that great and powerful force of the animal which, if permitted to follow its own instincts, bellows, tears up the earth in a cloud of dust and with its eyes closed blindly charges, even to its own destruction, anything it fears or cannot understand.
Yet, when this animal force is mastered and harnessed by man, it becomes powerful and patient to labor and bring forth; in fact, its tremendous force must be turned into channels through which it can be directed to express as the untiring labor and painstaking toil, without which the Neophyte cannot overcome and attain.
Thus, through victory over the lower aspects of these animal signs man must attain to the pinnacle of his development.
Because this highest attainment is necessary to become the Man, Aquarius is often represented by an Angel instead of a man, the Angel Gabriel, who is associated with the Disciple John; for the four Gospels, in their mystic symbology, are but another representation of the fixed cross and zodiacal signs which mark its four corners.
Astrologers tell us that Aquarius is an intellectual sign, the Captain of the Host.
They say that is is ruled by Saturn, and are apt to enumerate all its negative qualities, just as in the Dark Ages man was described by his negative qualities as inherently evil, a worm of the dust, etc..instead of as a son of God, made in HIS image.
Like all the signs, Aquarius is divided into 3 deans of ten degrees each, the first one being ruled by Saturn, the second by Mercury and the third by Venus.
But thus far humanity has never been able to manifest more than the lower aspects of the first decal.
This sign has largely been but a prophecy of that which it would bring into manifestation when the New or Aquarian Age dawned.
In previous cycles humanity was not sufficiently developed to respond to and express its forces.
Even now few persons born under this sign are able to manifest its higher aspects, for the solar system in this cycle has only just entered the Aquarian Age, hence its vibrations are not registered in full, either upon the substance of the globe or in its humanity.
In rare instances where a native of this sign approximates a balanced manifestation of the sign, he has brought the advancement over from incarnations in other great cycles or from other planets which have passed through this important era and manifested its forces. From the above it is easy to understand why this has been such a mysterious sign and why humanity has never comprehended more than the outer significance of its first decal.
Uranus is conceded to be the esoteric ruler of Aquarius, but in truth it is a Ruler of Rulers and, according to The Secret Doctrine, belongs to another system.
From an occult standpoint it is the mysterious forces consciously sent forth from Uranus which determine the changes in the cycles of ruling of the planets of our system.
For instance, in the individual life one may be ruled for a long period by the denser and more material aspects of the planets, but after a certain spiritual growth is attained (Initiation) and because of it, it is decreed that he shall pass into a more ethereal zone, where the higher mental, psychic and spiritual aspects of the planets will then be the strongest influences felt.
This is one reason why it is so difficult to correctly interpret the horoscope of an advanced student.
Both with the planet and with the individual, it is Uranus who decides when these changes or advanced steps shall be taken, but until this stage of spiritual growth is attained Uranus has very little effect, because the individual cannot respond to the high rate of vibration of its forces.
Uranus is said to bring about sudden changes because it is not strongly aspected until the student is about ready for such steps.
Since we are now standing on the threshold of this New Age and its doors are swinging outward, it is time that we understood something of its positive qualities and what the Earth and mankind may expect to meet and gain from it during the next 2000 years.
During this period the human race must penetrate deeply into the mysteries of Aquarius, which are the mysteries of Man.
To study Aquarius we must study man. We must now take up in earnest that which our lips have so repeated, “Man, know thyself.”
Step by step we must prove and demonstrate to the world the knowledge thus gained.
Just as Saturn, during all the ages, has been garnering the golden grain out of individual hearts, and teaching them through experience the unwisdom of disobeying the divine Law of Harmony, so in the first decal of Aquarius does Saturn take his place upon the throne of this world and, as the Water of Life is poured forth by the Son of Man, gather in his harvest from both the planet and from mankind.
He it is who sees that the tares are burned in the fire unquenchable-unquenchable because necessary and inevitable, hence must not be quenched as long as tares infest the wheat. But he also sees to it that the wheat is carefully gathered into the granary of the King.
Jesus has said of these conditions: “Woe unto the world because of offenses for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh!” or by whom the seed was planted which bore the crop of tares.
The first woe which we are told is past, was the planting of the tares among the wheat.
Their growth and the suffering incident to the experiences which their growth among the wheat brought about during the past centuries was the second woe, while the third woe is the karmic reaping the world has been undergoing at the close of the old cycle.
Ever since the childhood of the race man has been disobedient to his Divine Guidance; has been ambitious, selfish and self-indulgent, cruel and bloodthirsty, yet, in spite of this, civilization has steadily advanced in a cyclic and spiral fashion.
This has been accomplished through the Great Law constantly working with man in its sevenfold manner, always trying to inspire him with higher ideals, always utilizing for his learning, through the Law as Karma, the suffering he brings upon himself.
This Law is enunciated in the Bible in the words, “Whatsoever a man sow, that shall he also reap…”
Through this law, which is Divine Justice, man is taught through actual experience that he cannot love God and hate his brother; that he cannot truly worship God while he oppresses even the leasts of the ignorant little ones who are his brethren in Christ, without in some life, either now or in the future, himself suffering from injustice, hatred and oppression, until Saturn has gathered all the crop of unbrotherliness his heart has brought forth.
The Bible tells us that when we see this Sign of the Son of Man in the heavens we ay expect the end-not of the world, but of the old dispensation, the reign of the sign Pisces-and as this sign is now beginning to dominate or reign in the heavens we naturally expect a new outpouring of the vital Water of Life to rain down upon humanity, which will be just as real as was the rain of meteors from their “radiant” in the constellation Aquarius.
Just as the farmer waters his crops and the water exercises its life giving power to bring forth whatsoever seeds are in the ground, so Aquarius, the cosmic Water Bearer, pours forth the divine Water or Life upon the world, not for the purpose of bringing forth judgement and sorrow, woe and disaster, but like the rain which falls alike upon the just and the unjust, to fructify whatever seeds have been planted.
As it has been man who has planted the tares among the wheat, during the first decal of this sign, Saturn, the great Reaper and Adjuster, must gather in the harvest and separate the tares from the wheat.
Then, during the second decal, under the rulership of Mercury, the Messenger of mankind must be fructified, while during the third decal, under the rulership of Venus, the spark of divinity in each heart will be quickened through direct contact with Divine Love and man will then bring forth the true brotherhood and rule his kingdom with the golden scepter of Love.
In order for Man to be a Real Man (Aquarian) must manifest all his seven attributes; for this is the Image of God into which he is growing.
Must learn the Moral Justice of Saturn,
Wisdom and Power of Jupiter,
Intellect of Mercury,
Light Laughter of the Moon,
Enlightening power of the Sun,
Comforting Love of Venus and Warrior Spirit of Mars.
Since the affinity between man and the planet has always been recognized, as this stage of the Earth’s evolution is reached we may expect many Souls to incarnate under these new and specially prepared conditions, who will come as real Aquarians, ready to respond to and express, not vaguely but definitely, the higher metal, psychic and spiritual forces of the planets which rule the 3 deans of this sign.
As time goes on we will therefore find slowly taking the place of the humanity of today, a humanity which will be ruled by the focus from the higher and more ethereal globes of each planetary chain.
In this age man should reach a point where he no longer acts like a mere child, swept hither and thither by the currents and eddies of the Great Law; for, in this Age the majority of mankind will reach a point of intellectual and spiritual development which today is reached only by a few; where they recognize their responsibility for the conditions from which mankind is suffering and for the condition of the planet, and the lower kingdoms as well.
They will grow into the realization that each man is his brother’s keeper and that all, from the least to the greatest, are brothers; that no real happiness can come to any living Soul if it has to be attained at the expense, misery and despair of his brothers.
This lesson is now being learned as the result of the world’s experience, but will be fully grasped only as the Aquarian Age enters into the second decal, in which man responds to the finer forces of Mercury, instead of to its denser forces as at present.
Mercury is called a vacillating planet, and those who have it strongly ruling in their horoscopes are apt to be loquacious, to exaggerate and may even be called liars, for they can soar into the higher realms of thought and relate experiences or conceptions which, to the average plodder, seem but lies.
Mercury is the planet of reasoning and thought, and also called the Messenger of the Gods, as it is through thought that the will of God is made known to man. It is vacillating only as thought is vacillating until we have learned to control and direct it.
As man enters the second decal of Aquarius and comes under the finer forces of Mercury, he will have a wonderful intellectual awakening, amounting almost to illumination.
He will begin to open his Third Eye and blend intuition with understanding.
To this will be added, during the third decan, the Divine Love and Spiritual Will of Venus.
For just as each zodiacal sign has its three decans, so the great Aquarian Age will have its 3 lesser cycles during its great cycle of approximately 2160 years.
Today we see the Spirit again moving upon the face of the troubled waters of humanity.
The brooding of this Spirit brings forth the Son of Man or something that has been born from man, a child or offspring; a new consciousness which is awakened and brought forth amid the birth pangs of anguish which humanity has suffered during the past cycle and is still suffering so cruelly today as the New Age is being born.
With this new consciousness or Son is completely brought forth and manifested that it emanates from man and is lifted up to the heavens; that is, when humanity has accomplished this new birth and the cry of it reaches the heavens.
“Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.”
This Son is the essence of the sign Aquarius, no longer merely overshadowing, but now brought forth in humanity; the manifestation of the Water of Life which shall make all things new.
Do not confuse the Son of Man with the Son of Man is the higher spiritual realization which is born of man’s inner experience; a new-found understanding, joy and at-one-ment.
The Christ is born in Capricorn, but as He grows and His influence in humanity spreads, the Son of Man is brought forth in His image in Aquarius and reigns, first as an essence in heaven, then in its embodiment in man on Earth.
But His reign on Earth will be only when men and women in sufficient numbers and will sufficient love, devotion, realization, and spiritual power, have united to form a nucleus of those whose spiritual consciousness can sway the thought of humanity and through gradual accretion in numbers, leaven the rest of the Race.
After the reaping, when the golden grains have been gathered by the Four Winds from all the fields of Earth-those who have come “out of great tribulation” and whose garments have been made white “in the blood of the Lamb” then the mighty downpouring of the Water of Life will just as surely bring to fruition the seeds of man’s divine nature as it already has the lower; those spiritual seeds of which St. Paul spoke.
“Sown in corruption; it is raise din incorruption; it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power; it is sown in natural body; it is raised in spiritual body.”
For the world this new spiritual body will be the Aquarian Age, and for each individual first a new conception of love, light, power and life, the actual unfolding of the Christ-consciousness and a manifestation of its power in the life.
But first there must come the realization that because Saturn must reap the tares we have sown, he is not to be thought of as evil, but as one of the Sons of God who, in divine love and compassion, clears the ground that we may bring forth the Christ-seed and reap our spiritual harvest.
Just as Saturn is an aspect of God, so also is Mercury, he who takes our ever aspiration godward, our every effort toward victory and our every realization, to the very throne of God, until through the intercession of this winged Messenger, Venus or Divine Love enters and builds her next in our heart and brings forth her young.
Thus we become real Aquarians,
we will at last realize that because we have loved much, much as been forgiven.
THE BIRTH OF THE AQUARIAN AGE - Feb 12, 1912.
Uranus returned to its ruling sign Aquarius for the first time in 84 years, and the Sun by precession also entered it.
The Moon also entered the sign with the Sun.