Aquarius and the Angel Gabriel

Generally speaking, people born under the sign of Aquarius are fun-loving, creative, and forward- thinking individuals who like to be on the cutting edge of new ideas. Autonomy and individuality are important to Aquarians: They like to do what they enjoy and like to be who they are. They usually have no problem standing out in a crowd and they are often known for their unique fashion choices. At the same time, Aquarians love the idea of universal togetherness - hence, the "Age of Aquarius," the blossoming of understanding and brotherly love. However, interpersonal relationships - whether with spouses, children, or even business partners - can be difficult for Aquarians, simply because they would rather gear their efforts towards the bigger picture. Their scope of vision is so vast that they simply refuse to be restricted to the details and intricacies of one-on-one interactions. According to the kabbalists, each month has an angel that is connected to the specific energy of that month. The angel that is connected with the energy of Aquarius is the archangel Gabriel whose name means "strength of God." As I mentioned in my book To Be Continued: Reincarnation and the Purpose of our Lives: Judgment is Gabriel's domain. According to the ancient scriptures, the Creator instructed Gabriel to "go and write signs on the foreheads of the righteous so no sabotage angels can harm them. Go to the evil ones and write signs on their foreheads so sabotage angels can harm them." So Gabriel, our judge, marks an invisible "R" for righteousness on our forehead when we curb our self-centered nature, resist reactive behavior, and advance our process. The mark is a celestial seal of approval. Destructive angels take one look and leave us in peace. But if we are mired in negativity, Gabriel gives us a different mark. Then, as the ancient texts say, "the sabotage angels" will wreak their justice on us. I certainly wouldn't want to get too close to Gabriel because his job is judgment. However, Aquarians (and all of us since we are all affected by the month's energy) can use the energy this month to discern and make important decisions, to enact clear and healthy boundaries in our lives, and to navigate the physical world so we can do the spiritual corrections that we came here to do. The energy of Gabriel can also remind us that it is we ourselves, through our consciousness and actions, that have the power to make the difference. Recently, I heard about an experiment that people were doing on tomato plants on a kibbutz in Israel. As the plants were growing, people played music, said positive words, and injected care into the whole process. When the plants produced their fruit, the tomatoes were exceptionally big and delicious. Why? Simply because people cared about the vegetables. The point of this story is that man, by his actions, by his consciousness, by his ability, can literally change the course of nature. How many more beautiful "fruits" could we create if even just a thousand of us decide that we are going to be different people, at least for the next six months? For example, the next time we are about to get into a real fight, what if we stop and say to ourselves, "Not now. I've done this before. I've been to this place before, but now I'm not going to allow myself to get into that situation again. I'm going to take a few deep breaths, walk myself around the block, and come back and say, 'OK, let’s try this again.'" Of course, this will not be a simple thing to do at that moment. Nor will it be easy. As a matter of fact, it actually will be the hardest thing we will ever have to do. But if each one of us could do it - not all the time, of course, but even just a few times - imagine the difference we could make on the cosmic level. Someone once asked me, "How do you change the world?" I answered him, "One person at a time." And the reason I said that is because when we started The Kabbalah Centre, it consisted of just the Rav and me. One day we were talking and said, "Let’s bring Kabbalah to the world." At the time, both of us laughed and thought it was kind of funny. But now look what has happened! There is a war that rages within each one of us - a war between our selfish inclination and the Light that exists inside us. Everything we do has an effect. Through our negative actions, we create judgment, and Gabriel presides over judgment. At the same time, however, when we take responsibility to use all that is before us to transform ourselves for the better, Gabriel can turn our judgments into blessings. Chodesh Tov (Have a great month) Karen